Answers
by whitedove03
Summary: Sequel to Family Secrets. Now rated NC 17 for sexual content. Natalie is rescued and Shelly is safe, for now. Natalie meets John for the first time. Are they meant to be? Read and find out what twists are in store for everyone.
1. Chapter 1

A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.

**Answers**

**Chapter 1**

Natalie began to wake up and groaned. Her head hurt and she felt like someone had kicked her while she had been unconscious. She blinked her eyes and tried to focus, bright light assailed her. Blinking again she looked around and tried to figure out where she was. She saw a man in a white coat and her still foggy brain supplied the answer; she was in a hospital and was surrounded by doctors.

This brought up another round of questions, how had she gotten here and why? She looked up and saw a fairly young doctor and tried to speak. Her throat was dry and her tongue felt thick and all she was able to get out was a short rasping noise.

Michael saw that she was waking up and leaned over, "Natalie? Can you hear me?" At her nod he continued, "My name is Michael McBain, I'm a doctor. You are in the hospital. Do you understand?"

Natalie heard him and tried again to speak, but her throat was so dry. She managed to gasp out, "Water?"

Knowing that the drugs she had been given had probably caused her dry mouth and that she probably had a raging headache he nodded and handed her a glass of water. She gulped it down before he had a chance to tell her to drink it slowly, "Slowly." He said, too late.

Natalie drank the water greedily and then suddenly whipped her head around and began to retch over the side of the gurney. The involuntary spasms passed and she took another drink, sipping slowly this time. She was still confused, why was she in a hospital and where was Rex? After a minute she asked, "Where is my brother, Rex?"

Michael knew she would be confused so he wasn't surprised to see the puzzled expression on her face. He knew that she would want to see Rex as soon as she woke up; he would want to see John immediately after such an ordeal. So he said, "Look we need to check you over and make sure you are all right, then I'll send Rex in. He's out side waiting for you and he'll be so happy you're ok!"

Still sore and feeling like crap she decided she probably should be checked out. She needed to stay healthy and she still wasn't sure what had happened to her. She didn't remember why she would be so sore. Maybe she had fallen and hit her head. That would explain her headache and her confusion. "Ok. Dr McBain."

Michael nodded and started to leave the room to tell Rex, John and Shelly the good news. "I'll be right outside telling Rex your awake." He said as another doctor began the examination.

Shelly paced the floor in front of Chris, who was sitting in a chair next to her, because she was worried; the physical movement gave her something to do. After all this she was feeling overwhelmed. The fact that she had killed someone, the fact that she had helped rescue Natalie, and the fact that it still wasn't safe for her to be out in the open all seemed to be making her crazy. Rex stood in the corner of the room simply staring at the door where his sister had gone thru, as if willing the doors to open and Natalie to walk out and tell him everything would be ok.

John was simply sitting in one of the waiting room chairs calmly, talking to someone. The man he was speaking to was short, maybe 5'7" a little heavy and was balding. He was a cop, of that Shelly was sure. It looked like they were talking about what had gone on at Lions heart. She looked over at Chris and asked, "Do you know who he is?"

Cris looked over and saw the man. According to what Michael had told her when they had come in the man was Bo Buchanan and was a relative of Natalie's somehow. Not understanding how Natalie was related to Bo Chris simply said, "Bo Buchanan. That's what Michael told me. I think he's the police commissioner."

Shelly nodded and continued to stare at them, trying to figure out what was being said. What ever it was appeared to have shocked John, judging from his stunned expression.

John heard what Bo Buchanan said and was indeed stunned. He had just found out that Natalie was a member of the Buchanan family and that she herself had no clue. She had been kidnapped at birth, and what's more her 'Mother' Roxy had been found murdered just 2 days ago. He wondered how he would tell Rex about his mother. He didn't like the man but he knew what it was like to have a parent murdered. He thought of Shelly, she had never known their father and didn't really understand what he felt. But then he thought about how she had basically had her whole life torn apart and her family ripped away from her and realized that maybe she did have a clue as to how he felt.

It was so strange how Natalie and Shelly had been kidnapped and given away. In his gut he couldn't shake the feeling that the 2 cases were connected somehow. There were just too many similarities for it to be a coincidence and he told Bo this. Bo agreed and they made plans to meet at the station and share their information, after they heard word on how Natalie was doing.

Michael came out of the ER and walked directly over to Rex, seeing this everyone followed, hoping to hear good news. As Michael reached Rex the whole group had assembled and waited silently for him to speak. "She woke up just a few minutes ago," Michael told them and he felt their relief. He looked at Rex and told him, "She wants to see you after she is done getting checked out. It'll be about 10 minutes before they are done. She is going to be a bit groggy from the pain medication she's been given. She took quite a tumble and is in some pain."

"Was she...?" Shelly asked, praying she hadn't been raped, that they had gotten to her in time.

"No, not that we can tell." Michael told them, understanding what he was being asked. He slid a glance to Rex and saw the other man looked confused then horrified. "We could only do a brief exam with out consent."

"You thought...? But you said she wasn't? She is going to be all right isn't she?" Rex asked understanding what Shelly had been asking. The thought of Natalie being violated made him sick to his stomach and he suddenly realized what Shelly had been keeping from him about her vision.

Michael answered as many of their questions as he could and then went to go find out if the examination was finished yet. He saw that it was and went to go get Rex and send him in.

Rex walked into the room and saw Natalie sitting on the gurney looking pretty good considering what she had been through. He was just so happy to see her again after all this time. The last 8 months had been hard on him, not knowing if she was ok, if she was even alive. To be this close to her again was very moving for him and he embraced her in a tight hug.

Natalie hugged him back and smiled against his skin. "I missed you too Rex," She told him and then tried to let him go but Rex held on. "Come on Rex. You're acting like it's been a month since we have seen each other rather then a week. What gives?"

Rex heard her words and stiffened. He pulled back sharply and looked her in the face, "Natalie?" seeing that she was serious he began to panic. She didn't seem to remember being kidnapped. "What day is it Natalie?"

"It's January 10th. Why?" Natalie answered, confused.

Rex reeled; January 10th was a day before she had been kidnapped. "Natalie. Its July 25th not January 10th"

Natalie heard him and began to get freaked out. She mentally calculated and realized that was 8 months! Her hands flew to her stomach and felt that it was flat. "My baby? Where is my Baby?" She said with horror and panic on her face.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway. **

**

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**Chapter 2**

"My baby!" She said frantically. "I just found out I'm pregnant yesterday!" She stopped short and then said, "I was three months along! Where is my daughter!"

Rex was in shock. Surely she was confused, he reached for the call button beside the bed and pressed it. Michael would know what was wrong with her!

Natalie grabbed his shirt and begged, "Rex! Where is my daughter! Please! Tell me where she is?"

"I didn't even know you were pregnant Natalie. You were kidnapped January 11th and we just found you." He explained softly and hit the button several more times.

"I was kidnapped? By who? Why? They took my baby?" She began to rip off the monitors she was hooked too and frantically looked for her shoes.

"What are you doing?" Rex asked, alarmed she would hurt herself further.

"I'm getting out of here! I have to find my daughter. Alexandra needs me! I have to find her!" Natalie said fiercely.

Just then Michael came rushing into the room, in response to the frantic blinking from the call light. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"I have to get out of here!" Natalie stated as she ripped out the IV that was in her arm. "I need to find my baby!"

>>>>>>>>>>

Shelly came up to John, who was now sitting quietly waiting for news on about Natalie, and said gravely, "How do you live with it?"

John looked up at her and tried to read her expression. Seeing the inner conflict that she was going through in her eyes he knew she was talking about killing someone. More specifically the person she killed tonight. He had wondered when it would hit her, taking a life was never easy and doing it for the first time was something you never really got over. He took her hand gently and pulled her down to sit next to him. "It's hard to take a life, I know, but you deal with it one day at a time."

"That sounds so cliché," she said then paused. "I know it was either him or me but I just keep thinking 'what if he had a family. A kid, even.' How do I get past it?"

John looked at her seriously and said, "Its gonna take some time but eventually you will get past it. I won't lie to you. You never really forget but it does get easier. I promise."

Shelly nodded; she didn't feel much better about it though. But if John said it would get easier in time then she had to believe him. She was about to ask him what happened now when Rex came over to them.

"How is she?" John asked, more worried then was warranted for someone that he didn't know. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that he knew Natalie somehow or that she was important to him somehow. It wasn't just because she was beautiful, though she was very beautiful; there was something about her as he had held her and when he had looked at her picture.

Rex looked at them both and felt as if he was intruding somehow, like he had interrupted something serious. But then Shelly reached up and took his hand and he felt slightly better. He was so confused and scared. The fact that Natalie didn't remember the past eight months weighed heavily on his mind. And with her saying that she had been pregnant and that her baby must have been kidnapped, it was almost too much for him to handle after all he had been through in the past 6 months. "Physically she is fine." He said in answer to John's question.

"Physically?" Shelly asked softly.

Rex took a deep breath and let out slowly, "She doesn't remember the past eight months."

"What?" John and Shelly asked simultaneously.

Rex sat down heavily across from them, put his head in his hands, and sighed. "She thought it was January 10th when she woke up."

"Ohh Rex," Shelly stood up, moved over to him, and took him in a comforting embrace forgetting about John for the moment.

Rex buried his head into her shoulder and hugged her back tightly as the events of the past eight months hit him. He didn't cry but he held on to Shelly as if he would never let her go, drawing strength from her arms.

John stared at them and knew that no matter what he said Shelly and Rex would be together. He could see how much Rex cared for Shelly, it was written all over his face. And he knew Shelly loved Rex. Sighing he accepted that no matter how much he didn't like the other man Rex would be in Shelly's life until she found someone better.

He got up and walked over to the window to look out, leaving Shelly and Rex alone for the moment. Lost in thought he didn't hear Christina approach him.

"Beautiful isn't it?" She asked.

"What?" John said confused, turning to her.

"Outside. It's beautiful out there. Not like in here with all the sickness, death, and sorrow." Chris said. She hated hospitals. They were so gloomy and morbid. "She's going to be ok you know."

"She has amnesia. That doesn't seem ok to me." John said automatically.

"I was talking about Shelly." Chris said with a small smile at his assumption that she was talking about Natalie.

John looked down, confused by his goof. He shook his head and looked back to Chris, "Oh. Yeah I know Shelly will be ok. She's tough."

Chris smiled more widely and said, "You don't have to tell me that. I've known her most of my life. But it's interesting that you automatically thought I was talking about Natalie. Maybe you feel something more for her then just concern." When he didn't answer appearing to be deep in thought she left him alone to ponder her words.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After Michael sent Rex out of the room he looked at Natalie and said softly, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was going to the pharmacy to by prenatal vitamins." Natalie told him beginning to cry softly. "I had found out I was pregnant and the doctor gave me a prescription for vitamins. The next thing I remember is waking up here with you by my bed."

Michael nodded. "Listen it's not uncommon to experience memory loss after such a traumatic event. Most likely your memory will come back when your brain decides it can deal with the trauma." He told her gently, not wanting to make her even more upset.

"But what about my baby? How could I forget giving birth? How will I find her if I can't remember even giving birth?" Natalie asked, scared that she might never find her child.

"How do you know the baby was a girl?" Michael asked softly.

"I...I..." Natalie trailed off confused. She hadn't found out the sex of the child when she had found out she was pregnant but she was certain the baby was a girl. "I don't know how, I just know."

Michael nodded at her statement. "Your brain remembers. Its all in there Natalie, it just has to come out. Now there is something you should know..." He said then trailed off, unsure how to proceed.

"What?"

"I don't know quite how to say this so I'll just jump right in. I know this will be hard to hear but just because you were pregnant doesn't mean you gave birth." Michael said as gently as possible.

"What are you saying?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

He sighed and said, "You could have had a miscarriage or an abortion."

"I would never have an abortion!" Natalie told him angrily. "I know my baby is alive. I can feel her!" She said to him and she believed it. There was a part of her that was absolutely positive her baby was alive.

"It could have been forced."

Still strong in her belief her baby was alive; Natalie asked him, "Is there a way to tell if I have given birth?"

Michael nodded again relieved she had brought it up, that made it easier. "Yes we can do a pelvic exam. It will reveal if you have given birth or had a miscarriage or abortion."

"Fine, lets do it!" Natalie said, more in control of herself. Once she proved she gave birth the authorities would have to help her find her baby!

"Ok, I'll set it up." Michael said, walking over to the phone he dialed a number and spoke to a nurse. He then turned back to Natalie and said, "The OB/GYN will be here in about to minutes. Are you sure? This exam is usually mildly painful."

Natalie nodded and looked out the door window. Seeing Shelly hugging Rex she asked Michael, "Who is that woman with my brother?"

"That's my sister, Shelly. She's actually the reason you're sitting there right now and not still locked up at Lions Heart." Michael told her.

"Lions Heart?" Natalie asked still looking at Rex and Shelly. They seemed really close, like they were...involved.

"It's a mansion out side of town owned by some bad people. They were holding you there. Shelly helped John, my brother, and Rex find you." He told her somewhat vaguely.

"How?"

Michael was silent for a minute, thinking. He didn't know what to say. Shelly's visions were still new to him and still slightly unbelievable. It also wasn't his place to tell others about them, so finally he said, "Shelly should be the one to tell you that. Do you want to talk to her while you wait for the OB/GYN?"

Natalie glanced at Michael's face then back to Shelly, "Yeah...I would like that," she answered then, "Thank you Dr. McBain."

"Please call me Michael." Michael told her with a slight smile.

"Ok...Michael" Natalie said. She was afraid, confused and desperately wanted to find her daughter but somehow Michael McBain made her feel better, less afraid. 'He really was a good doctor' she thought as he went to go get his sister.

Natalie had a lot to thank Shelly for if what Michael said was true and by the way Rex was looking at her she and this Shelly would be around each other for a long while. She watched as Michael approached Shelly and Rex and was shocked to see a tall gorgeous man also join the group. He had longish dark hair and he looked vaguely familiar to her. She wondered who he was, they had never met before; of that she was sure. She would have remembered. She sighed heavily and shook her head; it didn't matter. The only thing she wanted to think about was finding her baby.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 3**

Michael left the room and headed straight to Shelly. She was still sitting with Rex, though they were no longer embracing. They were holding hands loosely but otherwise quite. As he neared them Bo approached him and said, "Michael. You got a second?"

"Well Bo, actually I was just going to..." Michael started.

"It's about Natalie Balsom, Michael. I need to speak to her, make sure that she is alright" Bo asks but was disappointed he didn't get many details. Michael knowing the truth just looks at him confused, does he let on what he suspects? or does he wait for him to tell him?

Michael had known this was coming and was prepared for it. "I figured as much Bo. You can't tell her yet though. She isn't ready."

"What do you mean? She deserves to know the truth about who she is. What better way to make her feel better then to let her know she hasn't lost her family but gained one?" Bo was confused. He had intended on telling Natalie about being a Buchanan. She was their family, his family, and needed to be told.

'It was strange though,' Bo thought to himself. He felt like she was already part of the family but had been gone for a while. Finally finding her after so many years was a miracle and it felt wrong not to share it. She needed to know that they had missed her; that her family loved her even if they hadn't known where she was. But most of all he wanted Natalie to know that they had never stopped looking for her.

"Commissioner Buchanan I'm sorry but Ms. Balsom is in a fragile state right now and I'm not sure letting her have visitors she doesn't know is in her best interest" Michael told him professionally somewhat forcefully, hoping his tone would show Bo that he was serious. He didn't want anything to cause Natalie to be further traumatized.

"Damn it Michael! She is my niece!" Bo burst out frustrated and angry at not being able to see her.

"I actually had figured that out but what I am trying to say is that telling her now will cause her more harm then good. She has partial amnesia and any further shocks at this time could be detrimental to her recovery. Maybe in a few hours but right now, this minute, it is simply not a good idea." Michael told Bo firmly.

Bo sighed, disappointed that he couldn't tell her about being part of his family. But along with the disappointment was relief. He hated what this news would do to her once it was safe to tell Natalie. This would be a huge shock to the young woman and change her life completely. It wasn't going to be as big of a shock to the rest of the family when they found out that Natalie was here, in Llanview. That was because even though Natalie had been kidnapped at birth the family had always known about her. Natalie didn't have that, she had no idea she wasn't a Balsom.

Michael took Bo's silence as agreement not to say anything to Natalie and excused himself. Walking over to Shelly he touched her shoulder and said, "I told Natalie you helped find her. She wants to talk to you."

Shelly looked up at Michael, confused. "Did you tell her...?" She questioned.

"No. I just said you helped. It's up to you if you want her to know how you helped." He smiled reassuringly at her and was surprised when she stood and hugged him quickly.

After hugging Michael, something she had done without thought, she looked at Rex. "I'll be right back," then she headed to Natalie's room, trying to decide what to tell her should Natalie ask how she had helped find her.

Rex watched Shelly go and felt proud. Natalie would love her. They were really kind of similar to each other. Maybe that's why he liked Shelly so much. Physically they were nothing alike. Natalie was on the short side with long red hair and a full curvaceous body where as Shelly was tall, dark haired and while curvy she was not as filled out as Natalie. But inside she had Natalie's strength of character, her iron will. He liked strong women.

He saw Michael staring at him with knowing eyes as he watched Shelly disappear into his sister's room. He shrugged and said, "She's great ain't she?"

Michael was glad that Rex genuinely liked Shelly but he had reservations about their relationship but all he said was, "Yeah she is."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Natalie heard a knock on the door and knew it was Shelly, she had seen her walking to the door from the window. "Come in." she called out and the door opened. When Shelly walked in Natalie took the opportunity to size her up, observe her a little. Shelly was nervous, Natalie could tell by the way she walked and by the way the other woman held her hands at her sides.

Shelly was nervous. She was seeing Rex's sister for the first time. Well the first time in person anyway. After that vision she had had of Natalie it felt like she knew her already. Getting in someone's head and feeling what they felt was a sure way to get to know them. But that was also the reason she was so nervous, she still didn't know how she was going to explain her part in Natalie's rescue. "Michael said you wanted to see me." Shelly said softly, breaking the silence.

Natalie smiled slightly at that, "So he is your brother? He's nice, a good doctor." Natalie said.

Shelly also smiled, "Yeah he is. I didn't know till a couple of weeks ago though." At Natalie's startled look she said, "It's a long story. Basically I was kidnapped at birth, John, the tall guy with the long hair out there, was working on a cold case, and found me." She explained briefly.

"Michael told me that you were the one who found me. I wanted to thank you." Natalie told her then paused. She wasn't sure how to ask the next question.

"You want to know how I found you, don't you?" Shelly asked. She decided then that she would tell her the truth about how she found her. It felt wrong to lie.

"Yes."

"Have you ever known something that you couldn't explain? Felt something that seemed impossible yet you knew in your gut that it was real?" She asked Natalie and took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

Natalie thought about her baby and how she felt her. Something inside her knew with out a doubt that her child was a girl and that she was alive so she did know what Shelly was talking about in a way. "Yes, my baby. I can feel her." Natalie said.

Shelly nodded and moved the chair closer to the bed. "When I was ten years old I fell off my parents front porch couch and split my head open on my fathers small cement mixer. Since then I have had dreams, horrible violent dreams of things that happen in the future. I know it sounds crazy but its true." She looked at Natalie expecting to see disbelief and condemnation and was shocked to see neither of those things.

Natalie was shocked but held her tongue. She wasn't certain she totally believed Shelly but it was obvious that Shelly believed it and had been traumatized by the dreams, be they real or not. She held only sympathy for her because she knew what it was like to have bad dreams. Shelly's next words made a believer out of her however.

Shelly explained that it was a dream of Natalie herself that led John, Rex, Michael, and herself to Natalie. "I can prove that I saw you." Shelly told Natalie looking down at her feet. She sensed Natalie didn't believe her and was unaccountably hurt and felt the need to prove her self.

"How?" Natalie asked curiously even as she looked at the clock again. She was wondering where that Dr. was for her exam. She wanted to get out of here to find her baby!

"You have a scar on your left side below your rib cage. I couldn't possible have seen it any other way." Shelly said, not mentioning how she had seen it in her vision.

Natalie was shocked. There was no way Shelly could have seen that scar. Even Michael hadn't seen it. And even if he had why would he tell Shelly. Suddenly she believed Shelly and that shocked her. She wasn't one to trust easily as a rule so the next words that came from her mouth were equally as shocking, "Will you say with me for my pelvic exam? I hate being here alone."

Shelly was shocked as well by her request but secretly pleased. She liked Natalie already and hoped they could be good friends. "Of course I will. Are you sure though. We did just meet and all." Shelly said just as a nice looking lady Dr. came into the room and introduced herself as Dr. Platt, the OB/GYN on duty.

Natalie always got a bit freaked out in hospitals so it helped to have company. She was still shocked that she had asked a virtual stranger to stay with her and more shocking yet was the fact that she didn't regret it. All she said to Shelly however was, "It will give us some time to talk about Rex." She laughed when Shelly's head whipped around to look at her and her face turned red.

To the Dr. Natalie said, "Lets get this over with." Dr. Platt nodded and began to set up her tools for the exam.

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 4**

John paced as he waited for Shelly to come out of Natalie's room. He wanted to talk to Natalie alone. He wasn't sure why but he had a feeling that she could help him solve this kidnapping case he had been working on. That he was _still _working on even though he had been taken off it. For some reason he felt drawn to her and he knew that it wasn't just because of the case.

When he had carried her to the car after rescuing her he had felt something. An instant connection that made him feel complete and that scared him more then he liked to admit. Never in his life had he felt such powerful emotions for someone he had just met. But also thrown in the mix was his fear of letting someone close. And Natalie Balsom had the potential to get around the wall he had built since Caitlyn had died and imbed herself in his heart. How he knew this he wasn't sure--he just knew it in his soul.

Even with the fear of getting too close John still waited for the chance to speak to her alone. Telling him self that it was for the case but he knew that was a lie. The problem was that he didn't care.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Are you sure about this?" Shelly asked Natalie when Dr. Platt had finished her exam. The Dr. had found that Natalie had indeed given birth recently. She had been unable to be certain whether it had been a live birth but the evidence suggested it had. That coupled with Natalie's certainty about her baby being alive and kidnapped compelled the DR. to leave the room and tell Bo that Natalie had probably given birth to a live baby around two-three months ago. It was now an open investigation and labeled an infant kidnapping.

"Yes! I know what I saw and what I heard. That nurse... I could describe her for you and tell you her first name." Natalie told Shelly with growing excitement. During her examination she had had a memory flash of a young nurse. It had been a memory of her baby's birth. It was at most maybe a two second memory but it was enough that Natalie had heard a name and seen a face.

"Ok I believe you Natalie. I have a friend and if you are willing she can maybe come in maybe make a sketch of this woman. Christina is a wonderful artist. If you can describe it then she can draw it." Shelly was almost as excited as Natalie over this memory. Shelly's excitement was two-fold. First and foremost she was overjoyed that Natalie was regaining her memory and that this could help her find her daughter. This would mean the world to Rex, who adored his sister so much that he had killed to make her safe. Secondly, as selfish as it was, if Natalie regained her memory she might be able to tell her who put out the hit on her.

Shelly knew it wasn't Rex, had known for quite some time, but it was some one close to her. Someone she trusted. She had racked her brain for hours, days even, thinking of who it could be and she could think of no one. It was a terrible feeling when she had to pick apart all her family and friends and judge whether they were trying to murder her.

**Two hours later**

John finally got the chance to speak to Natalie alone. Shelly and Christina had gone to the motel for the night. Since Michael was a doctor and was already at the hospital, his boss had put him to work. Rex was down in the cafeteria with Bo Buchanan. Bo had just left the room after telling Natalie that she was a long lost Buchanan. Michael had given the ok, deciding that she was strong enough to handle it after getting the encouraging news about her daughter.

"Hey," John said softly, taking in the stunned look on Natalie's face.

Natalie looked up and saw him. She recognized him from earlier when Michael had pointed him out. "John, right?" She questioned, trying to remember if that was his name.

John smiled widely that she knew his name. "Yeah." Walking closer to where she sat in bed he stuck out his hand and said, "John McBain."

Natalie took his hand and shook it. When she pulled it back her fingers tingled and she felt funny, as if something significant had just happened. Rubbing her palm absently on the sheet she said, "Natalie Balsom." Then paused and said ruefully, "Or is it Buchanan now? I'm not sure anymore."

John sat down in the chair next to the bed and said comfortingly, "Names don't matter you know. Balsom, Buchanan it's not important. What matters is inside. Who you are doesn't change simply by changing your last name. You are Natalie. The woman who went through something awful, something no woman or man should have to go through and you came through. You came through and are strong. That's who you are." John said softly yet firmly.

Natalie stared at John, a man she had never met yet felt as though she had known him a lifetime, and did something she could remember doing in years. She broke down and began to cry. The amnesia, her daughters kidnapping, her own kidnapping (Both times) ... suddenly it was all too much and she couldn't hold it in anymore. Through her tears she said, "I'm a terrible mother! I can't even remember giving birth to my own daughter!"

The sight of her in tears stunned John brought him out of his chair. He sat on the edge of the bed and drew her into his arms, holding her tight. He let her cry into his shoulder all the while her tears tore at him, made him both furious and relieved all at the same time. Furious because he was mad that those people had done this to her and relieved because he was glad she was letting it all out. It wasn't healthy to keep her emotions all bottled up inside like she had been doing.

After a while she stopped crying and just leaned her head on his shoulder while he held her. It felt so good to have someone just hold her. Even though she didn't know John and had literally just met him something deep inside her told her that he was someone she could trust.

John pulled back from the embrace after a few minutes feeling like the world had shifted slightly. With her in his arms it felt right. Almost is if she had been made to fit into his arms and he had been made to hold her. He brushed her beautiful red hair from her face and placed a hand on either side of her face. Using his thumbs to wipe the remaining tears from her face he said, "Look at me, Natalie"

Natalie sighed and looked into John's beautiful blue eyes. She was stunned by the intensity she saw in them.

"You are not a terrible mother. You remembered your baby even after your memory was erased. You remembered that your baby is a girl and that she was alive. And you also remembered something that is going to lead is to finding her. Your daughter would be proud of you and so am I!" John told her.

"But we still don't know where she is or even if she is still alive." Natalie all but whispered.

"Close your eyes," John told her. When she did he said, "Don't think, feel. She is a part of you. Your blood is her blood. You said before that you could feel her. Now concentrate. Feel for her with your heart... Can you feel your daughter?"

Natalie did what he told her and her eyes snapped open. "Yes! I can still feel her. She's still alive. I can feel her!"

John nodded and told her, "Then you will find her. I'll help you find her!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Damn it!" He shouted. "How could you let her get away? She was supposed to die tonight! You incompetent fool!" He flung a glass at the man in front of him and let out another curse when it missed and smashed against the wall behind him. "Get out of my sight before I kill you instead!"

As the lackey left he continued to pace and mutter. She was supposed to die. That bitch took everything from him and he wanted it back. Everything was perfect till they had brought her home and then he was the odd man out. Never getting the recognition, the praise, it all went to her! It was time to take it back! He laughed. She was way too trusting. She never suspected him. She never would. He would rid the world of her and take his rightful place by his father's side. And he would do it all with out anyone ever knowing it was him... And they said she was the smart one!

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 5**

"You'll help me?" Natalie asked John stunned.

"Yes. I will do anything I can to help you. Shelly said you had a sketch of someone you remember while you were held captive?" He asked. Shelly hadn't told him much about her time with Natalie but he had gotten the impression the women had hit it off. He was happy about it but in a way a bit sad. He had gotten used to not sharing Shelly's affections over the past few weeks and it seemed strange for her to hear her talk about someone else in that same awe struck tone as she had used on him. It seemed Natalie had impressed his little sister a great deal.

Natalie shifted away from John a little and sat up straighter on the bed. Moving her legs off the side she sat next to him and reached over to the nightstand off to the side of the bed. Taking the drawing that Christina had done she handed it to John and said in an excited voice, "Yeah. Christina drew her perfectly for me. As soon as Dr. McBain gets back here and releases me I am going to find her! If I have to bet it out of her she is going to tell me where my baby is!"

John looked at the drawing and saw that it was indeed very good. Right down to the tiny scar on the woman's left cheek. "You remembered her enough to describe her _this_ well?" he asked, both stunned and very impressed.

"Yeah." Natalie said with a wry smile, "It seems that I am blessed with a photographic memory." She shook her head and the smile slipped off her face. Tears began to run down her face and she sobbed once, then twice.

John heard her sob and bulled her into his arms again. "Its gonna be ok he said. We'll find her and bring her home." His heart broke for her. He could see that the pain of not having her daughter was tearing her apart inside. Her tears reached out to him, touched a part of his heart that he had thought died years ago, with Caitlyn. It left him with an even greater determination to find her baby and bring her home.

"Its ironic, isn't it? I have a photographic memory but I can't remember the last eight months of my life." She said into his shoulder, her voice muffled.

John simply held her tighter until she once again pulled out of his embrace.

"I don't usually cry in front of strangers. Hell I don't usually cry at all." Natalie told him wiping her tears away with her palms. She was embarrassed. Good lord, she had basically thrown herself into his arms and cried all over him! She looked away from him and studied the clock, trying to pull herself together.

John sensed her embarrassment and took her chin in his hand. Gently turning her head to face him he said, "Hey, none of that now. It's ok. You needed to let that out. You aren't made of stone. Hell, I would be worried if you didn't shed a few tears. Besides," he said with a slight grin and gestured to his dirty shirt, he hadn't had time to change since everything at Lions Heart, "this shirt needed to be washed anyway."

Natalie laughed a little and pushed on his arm. She made a show of inspecting his shirt. "Yeah, it's seen better days I'm sure."

Just then Michael came in looking at his clipboard, "Natalie I want to keep you here over night for observation." He told her with out looking up. When he did he stopped short, startled to see John in the room sitting next to Natalie on the bed. He saw the grins they both wore and looked between them, "Oh sorry! Did I interrupt something?"

John and Natalie exchanged a look and John answered, his face completely serious, "Why, yes Michael. I just proposed marriage to Natalie and she was just about to give me an answer. It seems that I have fallen madly in love with her and I can't live with out her." John then got down on one knee and took Natalie's hand in his. "So what do you say? Will you marry me?"

Michael dropped his clipboard in shock, John looked completely serious. "WHAT?" he gasped out. He tried to say something else but no sound came out. His mouth moved and he looked like a fish out of water as he tried to form words.

John and Natalie looked at each other and burst out laughing. Natalie continued to laugh as John got up off his knees and walked over to Michael. At first she had been just as stunned as Michael at John's answer but then she had seen that glint in his eyes. She had been about to say something but Michael's reaction had just been too funny. It felt good to laugh again.

"It's ok Michael," John told him as Michael recovered, "It was just a joke." John was still chuckling at Michael's reaction as he bent down and picked up the clipboard. "Here you go little brother. I think you dropped this."

Michael took the clipboard from John and gave him a glare. "That's not funny you know! I about had a heart attack."

Natalie gave another chuckle before getting serious once again, "So, I can get out of here tomorrow?" She asked him.

Michael nodded. "We need to keep you under observation overnight because you hit your head. You're lucky you only got a slight concussion, it could have been a lot worse you know."

Natalie looked skeptical and muttered, "I don't feel very lucky."

John heard her and said softly, "Hey, none of that. We'll find her. I am going to take this sketch down and have Bo run it though his computer and if that doesn't work I'll run it through the FBI's database. We will find this woman." John took the sketch and started to leave the room. Suddenly he stopped and turned around. "What was her first name?" He asked, mentally kicking himself for not asking before. He couldn't believe he had almost forgotten.

"Josie," Natalie answered before settling back in bed. She felt better after having talked to John McBain. She sat on the bed, her eyes getting heavy from the painkiller Michael had given her. Soon it was too much energy to keep her eyes open and she closed them, her brain still pondering. John McBain was a puzzle; he was tough and brave and kind, he had offered to help her find her missing daughter and he didn't even know her, he was a knight in shining armor yet he seemed...he seemed... hurt almost. It was like he was suffering some deep inner pain that he tried to mask from the world.

As crazy as it was she believed that he was actually going to help her find her daughter, her Alexandra. It might be wrong to let him help but she was going to anyway. She would just have to ignore that little voice inside her head that was telling her that working with him, being close to him, was going to break her heart in the end. 'Because,' although she was fully committed and concentrating on finding her daughter she admitted to her self, 'there was a part of her that was attracted to and wanted to be near John.'

>>>>>>

Shelly had gone to the police station instead of going to the motel room. She needed to get some answers and since Bo and Rex had left the hospital to go to the police station so did she. She waltzed right into Bo's office with out even knocking and was stunned to see her brother David sitting there in a chair talking to Bo.

"David!" She gasped, "What are you doing here?"

David looked at his sister for the first time in weeks and he grinned. She looked ragged, wrung out, worse for wear but to him she had never looked better. It had been awful with out her around, their parents looked like they had aged a year in the weeks since she had been gone. He got out of the chair and then did something that he had never done before; he hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. "God Michelle, I missed you so much!"

Shelly was shocked but embraced him back. Their family wasn't big on displays of affection and her brothers definitely did not hug her, the fact that David had illustrated just how much he missed her. "I missed you to Dave." She told him pulling back. "How are mom and Dad? Are they here?"

David released her completely and looked at Bo, "Umm...Commissioner Buchanan...Would it be ok if I talked to my sister alone? Is there somewhere we can speak privately?"

Bo nodded and said, "You can talk in here. I'll make sure you aren't interrupted." He liked Shelly already and her brother, though not by blood apparently, was alright too. He really liked the bond he sensed between them. It seemed that finding out that she wasn't really his blood kin had only strengthened David Falk's loved for his sister instead of diminished it. He got up and left the room so they could talk in private.

"So Mish, tell me what's going on." David said using his childhood nickname for her.

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 6**

"You bitch, you got away from me." He muttered the next morning. His eyes were read and bloodshot with fatigue. He had been up all night thinking and he decided to call off the hunt for now. There was too much heat from the cops. He had contacted the Carpelli's and told them to call it off for a while.

He stared at her picture and felt the familiar rage rise up and he snarled. "I hate you! Why couldn't you die the way you were supposed to!" He smiled then, a feral smile full of twisted anger. "You will die my sweet." He said stroking the face in the picture. "You will die the horrible death you deserve for taking what should have been mine." He laid down the picture, suddenly calm, and made a call.

Forcing a pleasant tone and then a smile even he said, "Hi, Just calling to check in. I'm fine. No, nothing that would interest you. Ok. I'll talk to you next week. Bye... Yes, I love you too." He hung up after the brief call and then picked up a lighter. He flicked it and stared at the flame. Slowly he held the picture over the lighter and it began to burn. As the flames licked up the picture, consuming the smiling face on the front, he said but one word, "Soon..." then dropped the picture in an ashtray, got up and left the room, the picture burned till it was nothing but ashes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

John had a name and address for the nurse that Natalie remembered. Josie Anderson. She lived in Atlantic City. He was going to go tell Natalie that they had a lead then go check it out him self. He would find Natalie's daughter and he would break this case. He didn't care that officially he wasn't supposed to be working on it and that he was actually on vacation. What mattered was bringing that little girl home, and as strange as it sounded Natalie mattered almost as much.

Her image had kept popping into his head all night. Her long, beautiful, red hair, her slight but voluptuous body, her intelligent blue eyes that drew him and captivated him; eyes that he could drown in and never even care. It was highly inappropriate and totally unlike him but he couldn't stop his thoughts. When he had been holding her the night before the urge to kiss her tears away had been almost overpowering but he had managed to keep it at bay. Just the thought of kissing those mesmerizing lips of hers made his blood run hot and he had to think of drywall just to keep his seemingly over eager body from reacting. Now was not the time to let his wayward hormones take control. Especially not when the object of his attention was a victim and vulnerable. He was supposed to be helping her not lusting after her body.

He cleared his mind of all inappropriate thoughts of her, knocked firmly on the door, and then went in. He saw that she was still in bed and in her hospital gown and was relieved. He hadn't wanted to tell her that he didn't think it was a good idea if she went with him. He worked better alone and he also didn't want to bring her into a dangerous situation. "Morning, "He said to her, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah I guess. Michael gave me something to knock me out. I didn't think concussion victims were supposed to go to sleep but apparently Michael had other ideas." Natalie told him smiling a little. Her smile faded and she asked, "You find anything?" the inactivity and the feeling of helplessness at not being able to just get up and find her daughter was starting to get to her. She needed to do something!

"I got a name and address," John told her triumphantly, "I'm going to tell Michael where I am going and then I'm going to find Josie Anderson. Hopefully I'll be back with your daughter by the time you're released from here." John told her and then started to leave.

"Hold on!" Natalie said throwing back the covers. "I'm going with you!"

John paused and turned around, "No. It's too dangerous. You're hurt."

Natalie scowled at him and said, "I'm fine! I'm supposed to get out of here soon anyway. I'm going with you and that's that!" She told him and started to get up.

Just as John was about to protest again Michael came back into the room. "Don't you ever sleep?" John asked him instead. "I need you to tell Natalie here that she shouldn't be up and around right now." John said.

"He's right Natalie. You shouldn't be walking around yet. You went through a lot these past few months." Michael told her. He heard John say he was going out side and just waved him off and continued his lecture at Natalie.

Natalie saw John leave and knew he was going to try to leave with out her. She got out of bed, headed for the closet, and grabbed her clothes. She disappeared in the bathroom smiling when Michael started sputtering and asking what she thought she was doing. Coming out of the bathroom fully dressed and somewhat sore still she looked at him and said, "I'm going with John to find my daughter! He isn't just brushing me off and going all lone ranger!"

Michael smiled at the look on her face. Natalie was a firecracker that was for sure and she sure had enough guts to take on an army, or John McBain. With her being a Buchanan, he wasn't even that surprised that she was going to ignore his advice. Having seen that she was determined to leave the hospital he decided that it might even be a good idea to help her so he said, "He has a black Buick now. If you hurry you might be able to catch him before he leaves."

Natalie smiled and took off out the door. Her injuries were still painful but her desire to find her daughter was stronger then the pain. She raced down the stairs and to the parking garage. She sighed in frustration when she saw how many black cars were out there. How would she ever find the right one? Then, but some miracle she spotted John getting into his car and sprinted to him.

She was breathing hard by the time she got there. She opened the door and jumped in, smiling when she saw the stunned look on John's face.

"What do you think you are doing?" John demanded. He was shocked to see her. He had thought he would be gone before she could follow him. She must have run the entire way here and by that she was she was breathing she had.

"Oh please! Did you really think I was going to sit in bed when my daughter is still out there? I'm going with you!" She told him defiantly, looking at him as if she expected him to open the door and drag her out kicking and screaming. If that were the case then he would have one hell of a fight on his hands because nothing and no one would stop her from finding her child!

John stared at her long and hard. He took in the set of her shoulders and the look on her face. It all said that he wasn't going to get her to stay. He threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine! You're coming." He put the car in gear and waited, "Buckle up," he said finally when she just sat there waiting for him to go.

Natalie rolled her eyes and did as she was told. She was surprised that he hadn't put up more of a fight about her coming along but extremely glad he didn't. Nothing he said or did would have changed her mind and would have just wasted time. "Lets go," she said and then he pushed the gas and they were on their way.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Shelly had lain awake in bed just staring at the ceiling. She and David had a wonderful visit and then she had come back to the hotel to find Rex already there. They had a nice long talk about the day's activities when things had caught up to her. She was so tired tired. Although she had wanted to just lay down with Rex and be held by him but she knew if John had come in and seen them he would probably go nuts like he had before. So they had went to their separate beds and gone to sleep.

Abruptly Shelly sat up, suddenly fully awake. "Damn it," she muttered and put a hand to her head even as she reached for her phone. She dialed John's cell number and heard it ring, "Come on' she muttered as she waited impatiently. She had just had a vision and it wasn't good at all!

"Come on!" She said again as it rang for the fifth time. It went to voice mail after that and Shelly hissed in frustration. "John, this is Shelly. Call me as soon as you get this. I had a vision and it wasn't good! You have to hurry!" She hung up the phone and prayed he called her back quickly.

"Something wrong?" Rex asked from the bed across from her. She nodded and climbed onto his bed, sighing when he put his arms around her and pulled her close. "What is it, honey?" He held her close and buried his face in her hair, inhaling its floral sent. He loved her so much. He thought to himself. He was concerned for her, these visions she had...none of them seemed to be pleasant and, by the looks of her right now, took their toll on her emotionally. "Want to talk about it?" He asked.

Shelly nodded and began to tell him what she saw.

**To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 7**

The drive to Atlantic City was one of silence. Neither felt the need for idle conversation. John was deep in thought about Natalie and his reaction to her. He knew it was bad timing and that now wasn't the time for having thoughts about a woman but his brain just couldn't seem to grasp that fact. After knowing Natalie only a day he found that she seemed to occupy all his waking thoughts and had even invaded his dreams. His dreams...he couldn't remember ever having such erotic dreams about someone he just met. The fact that he felt such a strong bond with her scared him, made him wary. Because he knew if he let Natalie into his heart she would never leave and the thought should have terrified him...yet it didn't and that's what scared him the most.

Natalie looked at John again, for the hundredth time in their drive. He seemed so serious and for that she was glad. She wanted to get there and get her daughter back. Her hopes were high that she would be finding her child today. After all, this woman had been there when they had taken her child, her Alex. Then maybe after that, her and John could... "No! Don't think like that!" she told herself sternly. She was going to have her hands full with taking care of a baby and wouldn't have time for a relationship, even if the man did make her want to forget all her problems and jump into bed with him.

"How much further?" Natalie asked, impatient to get her daughter back.

"Soon," John said. "It won't be long now."

Natalie gasped in shock as his words stirred something in her head... a memory. She remembered someone saying those exact words to her when she had been trying to push her daughter into the world.

Flashback

"_Push Natalie!" said the doctor. He was standing between her legs holding her baby's head as she made her way into the world._

_Natalie screamed in pain and fear. It hurt so much! It felt like she was being ripped in two. She clenched her hands in the metal sides of the bed and bore down with all her might, screaming again as she felt the baby slide even further out of her body._

"_It won't be long now! One more good push and you will be holding your beautiful baby girl in your hands." The doctor said encouragingly through his surgical mask._

_Natalie panted a curse at the doctor. She knew he worked for them! Even through the pain of labor she never forgot that he was the enemy and would destroy her if she trusted him. When she felt another contraction hit her full force she pushed with all her might. "AHHHHHH!" She screamed out in pain as her baby slipped out of her body and into the doctors waiting hands. As the contraction ceased she panted for breath and reached for her baby. "Alexandra," She murmured, the name she had chosen for her daughter, Alex for short. When the doctor made no move to hand her the child Natalie began to scream, "Give me my baby, Give me my Alex!"_

End flashback

"Alex," Natalie muttered to herself. "Give me my Alex."

"What?" John asked, hearing her mumble but not what she had said.

Natalie turned to look at him with wide eyes, "I remember! I remember Alex!"

John tensed, at first thinking she was talking about a man, then he remembered that she had named her baby Alexandra. Alex must be a nickname. "What do you remember?" he asked, excited that she was remembering things.

"Not much but what you said. When you said 'it wouldn't be long now' it triggered a memory!" Natalie told him. Remembering her memory she frowned and said, "But they wouldn't let me hold her... Why wouldn't they let me hold her?" she teared up a little and then pushed them back. She had cried enough. Now was the time to take back her daughter and reclaim her life!

John was confused, "What exactly did you remember?"

"I remember being in a small room. It was darkish. I couldn't see much and everyone wore surgical masks. My feet were propped up and I was in labor. I could feel her as she came out of my body. I could feel her, John!" She sat back in her chair thinking about the memory, trying to see things she might have missed the first time she remembered it. Suddenly something stood out in her memory and she jumped in her seat in excitement. "The doctor that delivered her only had 4 fingers on his left hand, John. He had no pinky finger!"

John smiled at her exuberance and turned into Josie Anderson's driveway. He turned to her and said, "That's good. There can't be too many doctors running around missing a pinky finger." He put the car in park and shut off the engine. "We're here. It's time to get some answers." He told her and reached for the door handle.

Natalie put a hand on his arm to stop him. "John," she said and he looked at her questioningly, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me. No one besides Rex has ever helped me before. At least and not expected anything in return. So thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek in gratitude.

John froze at the feel of her lips on his cheek then before he could think better of it he turned his head and captured her lips in his. He moved his mouth over hers in an almost searching manor, moaning when she opened her lips and allowed him entry. Heat flared through him as he thrust his tongue inside and learned the contours of her mouth. After a moment he pulled back, abruptly ending the kiss. Mumbling a hasty, "I'm sorry," he jerked open the door and hastily exited the car, wondering what the hell he had just done.

Natalie sat there stunned; she brought a hand to her lips and touched them in shock. That had been by far the best kiss she had ever gotten! Her body was aching for his and her mouth burned from the feel of his lips on hers. She knew her face was flushed with arousal and was embarrassed by that fact. It made her feel only slightly better to know that he had been just as affected by the kiss as she was. But he had said he was sorry...Sorry for kissing her or sorry about the timing? Looking out the car window she saw him just standing next to the car with his hands in his pockets.

She took a moment to regain herself then opened the door. Walking over to him and opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"Look I am really sorry I kissed you like that. I didn't mean to take advantage of you. I don't usually go around kissing women I just met but I...with you...I..." John struggled to express himself. He took a deep breath and then said, "Look, It won't happen again. I promise." He told her then looked away, up at the house they were parked in front of. "Lets go ring the bell and get some answers." He suggested.

Natalie nodded and started towards the front of the house, in front of him. She got a few steps a head then turned and stopped. "For the record, I'm not sorry about the kiss. It was wonderful. The timing sucks and you know this..." she gestured from him to herself then back to him again, "This connection we seem to have...it can't go anywhere. I have to concentrate on finding my daughter and you need to find your bad guys."

John was shocked at how disappointed her words made him. He nodded to her and then pushing it out of his mind he concentrated on the task at hand. After they found her daughter then they could talk about what was between them. They walked up to the door and the hairs at the back of his neck stood up. Something was wrong; something was off. He grabbed Natalie's hand as she brought it down to know on the door. "No, something isn't right."

He drew his gun and looked around. Reaching for the door handle he tried it; the door was unlocked. Opening the door a crack he brought his free hand back to his gun and got a more secure hold on it. Pushing the door all the way open with the tip of the gun he looked inside. The house was trashed; there had obviously been a struggle. The bad feeling he had intensified and he whispered to Natalie, "Get behind me."

Just as he said that a shot rang out and struck the door frame just left of his head. John pushed Natalie to the side of the house, into the hedges and then dived for cover himself. Rolling onto his stomach he returned fire and was rewarded with a scream of pain and a loud crashing as the assailant went down.

John waited a minute but heard nothing. He cautiously got to his feet. Looking at Natalie he said, "Stay here!" Then he entered the house slowly.

**To be continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 8**

Shelly paced the floor waiting for John to call back. It wasn't like him to shut his phone off for so long. She had tried to call him several times after the first time and each time she got his voice mail. She looked over at Rex who was watching her, looking somewhat grim himself. She stopped her own pacing and asked him, "What's the matter?"

"Natalie checked herself out of the hospital and no one knows where she is." Rex told her. Right after voicing that Rex had a sudden thought, "You don't think that maybe... maybe they are together, do you?"

Shelly thought about it and it made sense. John was determined to find the baby-nappers and crack his case. What better way then helping Natalie find her baby. "You think?" She asked, "It does make sense." She paused then frowned. If Natalie was with John that meant that they both could be in trouble. She thought back to her vision and her frown deepened. "Call me back, John," she muttered to herself and resumed pacing.

Vision Flashback

_She was in a house, running. Her nurses uniform gave her away as she ran from the living room. Josie knocked off things into her pursuers way but he kept coming. He wouldn't let up, he kept screaming, "You bitch. I'm going to teach you a lesson! You are all bitches. Taking what's mine and giving it away!" He was crazy, off he rocker but he was also dangerous. The knife in his hand as he chased her up the stairs gave testament to that. _

_She had to hide, but where? Ahh! She thought then ran to the tiny room off to the left of the baby room. She was almost there, almost there... "No!" she screamed as he caught her hair and dragged her to a stop. Too late. He had caught her. It was over now. But at least she had saved her...the baby. He wouldn't find her. Not today anyway._

End Flashback

"Shelly?" Rex questioned again, for the third time.

Shelly shook herself, dispelling the vision. "What? What did you say?" She asked, not having heard what he said.

"Are you ok?" Rex asked concerned.

Shelly nodded distractedly, "Yeah. I just wish John would call." She walked to the window and looked out; it was a beautiful morning. She smiled when Rex came up behind her and put his arms around her. Leaning back into his chest she could almost forget that her life was a mess and that terrible things were happening all around her...Almost.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Do you really think now is a good time to be going on a date?" Christina asked Michael over brunch. It had been almost 11am when Michael had finally gotten off duty at the hospital and he had been hungry. He had asked Chris to go to lunch with him. And she had agreed.

"John is with Natalie and Shelly is with Rex right now. What better time is there?" Michael asked her.

"But...but...there are murders and kidnappers on the loose. Is now really the best time to be thinking about dating?" Chris asked him again. It wasn't that she didn't like him, she did. But to be going on a date now, while her best friend was being hunted by the mafia, seemed wrong somehow.

"Listen Chris. I like you and I think you like me. This is Llanview; there are always serial killers and kidnappers. You have to take life as it comes and enjoy it while you can. I know it may not seem like the best time to get to know each other better but around here there may never be a best time." He said.

Chris nodded and thought about it. There was wisdom in his words. After all how many times did she hear on the news that someone was killed or had some tragic accident befall them? He was right, you never knew what might happen and the thought of never finding the right time to get to know him was really quite unthinkable to her. So she nodded and said, "I guess you're right. It's a date." She laughed slightly and smiled up at him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

John moved through the house silently, listening for anything out of place. Going through each room he checked for the man he knew he had shot. The man had obviously gotten away but judging by the blood trail leading out the back door he had hit the man pretty good. He had cleared the downstairs when he heard a faint sound from the room above him. It sounded like a muffled cry, very weak. Thinking it might be Natalie's baby he quickly went up the stairs and began carefully searching.

When he got to a door with a pink hippo painted on the door he paused and listened again. Hearing nothing he gently opened the door and looked around. It was a nursery he noted as his eyes swept the room. "Ohhh," he heard. It was a pain filled gasping moan. He looked around once more then entered the room. Just beyond the crib he spotted a trail of blood. Following it around a sharp corner he gasped at what he found... Josie Anderson

She was injured pretty badly and he bent to check her wounds. As he bent over he heard a noise behind him and with lightning quick speed he spun around and then cursed. "Natalie! I told you to stay put!" he said, agitated.

Natalie shrugged and then gasped in horror as she caught sight of Josie. She whipped out her phone, Or rather John's phone that she had taken from his car, and dialed 911. John also returned his attention to Josie. She had been stabbed multiple times and was bleeding pretty heavily. As he tried to stem the flow of blood she opened her eyes.

Natalie finished her call to 911 and hung up, "The ambulance is on its way. Hang on," she told Josie. She prayed they got here quickly because Josie was loosing a lot of blood. She knelt next to Josie and took her hand, comforting her. Everything in her hated this woman but the thought that she might say something about Alex drove her to offer comfort.

Josie saw Natalie and knew what she was there for. The pain was unbearable but she struggled to speak. The guilt of what she had been a part of compelled her to make things right. But it was so hard...so hard to speak. Her chest felt so heavy and her head felt strange, like she was seeing and hearing through a pipe. "I'm sorry... thought she was...safe. He came to...take her. I hid her...won't find her..." She said gasping in between the words making them hard to understand.

Natalie was angry but tried to hid it, to hold it in. "She wasn't fully successful and burst out, "If you were so sorry you wouldn't have kept my child for 2 months! You would have given her back to me!"

Josie took a huge gasping breath; her strength was waning, and said, "three months..."

"What?" Both John and Natalie questioned at the same time.

Josie closed her eyes and her breathing became even more shallow. Using the last of her energy she said, "month early... induced." She took one more breath then exhaled. That was it. She was no longer breathing.

John checked for a pulse and found none. He swore violently. "She told us nothing! Damn it!"

Natalie sat back in shock at what Josie had just told her. It was beginning to make sense now. "That's what it didn't take long and why it seemed so much more painful than I always thought it was!" She murmured. Then she began to get enraged. "Those bastards! Those fucking bastards!"

"What are you talking about?" John asked confused. He didn't understand what Josie's last words meant or why Natalie was so enraged by them.

Natalie looked at him and spat out, "They induced my labor a month early. That's why it hurt so much, its what it only took a short time! My daughter is three months old and not two!"

"But that still doesn't tell us where she is..." John said only to trail off as he noticed something strange. Before he could fully process what had caught his attention he heard banging on the door. It was the ambulance. He looked at Natalie and decided that she might need a moment alone and went downstairs to let them in himself.

When he returned he noticed Natalie had tear marks on her face, obviously she had just finished crying. As the EMT's loaded up Josie's body he took Natalie aside and told her that the Atlantic City police were there as well. He told her that they had told him that the Mafia had decided to lay low for a while and that the hits on both her and Shelly had been canceled. He was going to ask something else when he noticed that she was staring at the floor where Josie had been. "What are you staring at?" He asked instead, concerned.

"Look," Natalie said pointing at the floor.

"Well fuck." John breathed. Josie had left them a clue after all!

**To be continued...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 9**

Chris giggled, 'This was totally unlike her,' she thought to her self as she stopped in the lobby of the Angel Square Hotel and looked back at Michael McBain. She was usually so level-headed but Michael seemed to bring out her impulsiveness. She stared at her hand, her left hand to be exact. "I can't believe we did it!" She turned to Michael and lightly punched him in the arm. "How did I let you talk me into this?"

Michael's response was to drag her close to him and kiss her passionately. "I didn't talk you into anything! It was you that all but dragged me to Atlantic City!" He said with a laugh. Even after 8 hours it was still shocking to him. He, Michael McBain, was MARRIED! And what's more he wasn't in the least sorry.

After their lunch date Michael had known, with a certainty that he still didn't fully understand, that Christina was the woman for him. He had realized that, in the few days that they had known each other, he had fallen in love with her! The realization had stunned him and, maybe it had been Johns talk of marriage or maybe not, he wasn't sure, but he had found himself saying, "Lets get married!" over desert and he had actually fallen out of the chair when she had said, "Ok." That was all she said, just 'Ok.' So they had promptly flown to Atlantic City and had gotten married.

Chris looked at her ring for the 1000th time in the last eight hours and just couldn't believe it. She had started laughing when Michael had fallen out of his chair but she had understood his reaction to her answer. She had been pretty damn shocked that she had answered like that her self. But she knew, as soon as he said the words, that he was right. She had fallen in love with him almost on sight and a life long friendship with Shelly had taught her not to discount her feelings just because they might be sudden or unexpected. She knew that there were things in this world that defied explanation and her almost immediate feelings for Michael McBain was one of those things. And as Michael had told her earlier, life was short. It was best to make the most of what time you had while you sill could.

She laughed at him openly now and kissed him again, "Now do I have to drag you to bed too? Or do you know the way...?" She released him and headed for the stairs. Michael let out a grunt, chased after her, caught her around the waist, and hauled her against him. He planted a hard kiss on her mouth then practically dragged her up the stairs in his haste to get her alone and in his room, their room.

'Ohhh no, Mrs. McBain, I know where the bed is," He murmured as he pushed open the door. Her giggle sounded as he slammed the door behind them to celebrate in private.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Several hours earlier:

"Well fuck." John breathed. Josie had left them a clue after all! He stared at the blood on the floor. It was underneath where Josie had been laying. In the blood was written a single word...FATHER.

"Father?" Natalie muttered. "Whose father?" She was still clutching John's phone in her hand and when it began to vibrate she jumped slightly.

Looking at her hand is if she had never seen it before she realized that she still had the phone. "Here," she said, handing the phone to John just as it stopped vibrating.

Her head was spinning with reaction to the events of the day. The hope she had that she would be bringing her child home today was gone and it had left in its place hopelessness. As John took his phone she got lost in her fear that she would never find her daughter. As she thought about it she began to get angry, enraged, at the person who had killed Josie and then at Josie herself for dieing. She walked over to the window and looked out as her emotions swept through her.

John frowned and flipped it open. He turned went to the missed calls log and saw that he had missed 4 calls; all from the Angel Square Hotel. Shelly, he realized and hit call back. Whatever she had been calling about it must be urgent to have called 4 times. He prayed she was ok. He breathed a sigh of relief when she answered on the first ring.

"John!" Shelly questioned anxiously.

"What's wrong?" John asked immediately, his concern evident in his voice.

"Where the hell have you been? I have been trying to call you for hours!" she burst out.

"I was checking out a lead on Natalie's baby. What's the matter?" He asked, still concerned.

"Natalie's there with you? Oh Good! Rex was worried about her." Shelly said with relief then turned solemn. "I had a vision last night. It was about that Nurse Natalie remembered. You have to find her quickly. She is in serious danger John!" Shelly told him urgently. "I think she had the baby there but gave her away recently cause I didn't see or hear any baby in the vision."

"What exactly did you see in your vision?" He was pretty sure about what happened but it might help him figure out what "FATHER' meant if he had the exact details of what had happened.

Shelly tensed on the other end of the line. She had known this was coming and had been dreading it. She glanced at Rex; he was sitting right next to her on the bed. When he scooted behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist she leaned back against him. Feeling more confident and less revolted she began to tell John of her vision. When she got to the part about the killer dragging Josie into the nursery John told her to concentrate really hard and tell him exactly what she had seen.

Vision Flashback

_Shelly watched as the masked man caught Josie by the hair. He laughed at her and told her that she was dead. He demanded to know where the baby was. The knife glistened in the morning light as he waved it under her nose, threatening her. Josie had cried out in fear and told him that she didn't know where the baby was. Then the attacker dragged her by the hair to the crib and thrown her to the floor. Pointing with the knife he had screamed that she was lying. _

_Josie had thrown something, a baby toy maybe, at him and had jumped to her feet. She had tried to run but he was too quick. He had stabbed her once in the stomach. It had almost looked like an accident, like he hadn't intended to stab her just yet. But the action seemed to unleash a rage in him and he had stabbed her again, and again, and again. He had been screaming something about her taking what was his but the rage in his voice made hearing the actual words difficult. There had been blood all over. On his black mask and his shirt and pants. Even his shoes. After what seemed like forever he had stopped and stepped back, breathing hard. _

_Josie had fallen to the floor without a sound. If she had been breathing it wasn't apparent by looking at her chest. Her attacker had looked a Josie and then had spit on her. Then there had been a noise, it had spooked the attacker and he had taken one last look around and then run out the door and pounded down the stair. _

_Shelly had expected the vision to follow the attacker but it hadn't it remained firmly on Josie. After a minute she had understood why. Josie had let out a groan and began to crawl for the phone, intent on calling for help. She made it to the wall but had lacked the strength to reach it. As if sensing that she was going to die she had let out another moan and drawn something on the floor. After that she had collapsed and lost consciousness. _

End Vision Flashback

"Then I woke up." Shelly told him, unconsciously squeezing Rex's hand for the strength to tell her story.

John sighed. He wished he had been there for her when she had woken up. He hated to think of her all alone and going through another horrible vision. His memory went back to the last one she had experienced and he shuddered. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone, Shelly." He told her regretfully.

Shelly tensed, "I...um...actually...um...I wasn't alone. Rex was here." She said the words softly, knowing that he wouldn't like it. He reacted just as she thought he would.

"What?" John was livid! Again she had spent the night alone with Rex! Again! He was furious. She was too young to be spending the night alone with any boy whether anything happened or not! "What do you mean Rex was there with you!" he yelled in the phone.

"Calm down John! Nothing happened! Rex slept in the other bed. Nothing happened!" She repeated trying to smooth things over. She had known John would be angry but her personal rules would not let her lie to him again. He was family and she NEVER lied to family.

That's not the point and you know it!" John told her in a slightly lower voice. He was relieved that nothing had happened, "Just because nothing happened this time doesn't mean this REX won't try to take advantage of you the next time!" He said. Suddenly the phone was ripped out of his hand and he whipped his head around and saw that Natalie had taken it, a very angry Natalie!

**To be continued...**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 10**

Natalie put her ear to the phone and heard Shelly defending Rex, saying that Rex would never do that. "Shel this is Natalie, John will call you back." Natalie told Shelly and she heard Shelly stop talking then lat out a bark of laughter.

"Sure, Natalie. Glad you are out of the hospital, by the way. Tell John there is no hurry to call back. Rex will keep me busy." Shelly told the other woman laughing again. She had heard the tone of voice that Natalie used. She was mad, furious actually, at John. John would have his hands full with that one she thought to herself in amusement.

"Ok. OH by the way Shel the contracts have been lifted on you and I. We don't have to worry about that at least. Bye." She said then hung up the phone. She turned to John, her eyes flashing in anger as her rage and fear over losing the only lead to finding her daughter hit her, "Don't you EVER talk about my brother that way again!"

She threw his phone at him, whirled around, and stomped to the door. When she got to the door she gasped in outrage when he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "Get your hands off me!" She demanded.

"You listen here, Natalie!" John said equally as mad, "Shelly is MY SISTER and it is my job to protect her from men that might take advantage of her. Men like REX!"

"NO, You listen here, you ass! My brother would NEVER take advantage of Shelly." Natalie all but shouted at him, her fear and shock making her lash out at John even though she knew he didn't deserve it. " In case your lackwit brain hasn't grasped the fact HE LOVES HER. And if I am not mistaken she loves him too!"

John had backed her up against the door and just stared at her angrily. He knew that she was in shock and probably torn apart because of what had happened here because frankly he was pretty angry about losing the only lead to finding her daughter. Having her so close messed with his brain, made it impossible to think clearly. She was the most infuriating woman he had ever met! He had only known her one day and already he didn't know if he wanted to strangle her or kiss her! He chose the latter. Taking one more look at her angry face he dipped his head down and took her lips in a heated kiss.

Natalie gasped in shock as his mouth came down hard on hers. The feel of his lips moving over her own erased her anger and replaced it with white-hot desire. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. Burying her hands in his hair she pulled his head even closer, deepening the kiss. A passion that she had never felt before consumed her, blocking out all rational thought as they continued to kiss hungrily.

John had no other thought left in his head other then the single-minded desire to taste Natalie. He wanted to taste her mouth, her breasts, her stomach, and finally her core. His hips pressed forward at the thought and he pushed his rigid arousal into her stomach, showing her how much he wanted her. His hands, as if they had a mind of their own, found their way under her shirt and moved up her torso to cup her full breasts through the lace of her bra. He moaned into her mouth at the feel of her filling his hands. They were the perfect size. It was as if they had been made for him, for his hands alone.

Natalie felt his hands on her breasts and jolted. Her brain suddenly cleared and she took her hands from his hair and placed them on his chest. She pushed at him and he stepped back, breathing raggedly. They stared at each other in shock over what had just happened between them. "We can't do this!" She panted out, her earlier anger at him forgotten as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Catching a glimpse at the blood still on the floor she shook her head again and said, "and especially not here!"

John followed her gaze, still trying to get his body under control. The sight of the blood cooled him down and doused his passion as nothing else could. Suddenly he was ashamed of the way he acted and said, "I'm sorry. I did just what I accused your brother of doing. I took advantage of you when you are vulnerable. It won't happen again." He told her.

Natalie didn't know how she felt about that. She was ashamed to admit it but there was a part of her that was disappointed at his words. It wasn't as if she hadn't liked his kiss, his touch. She had, maybe too much so and that's what troubled her. Her daughter was missing and she was acting like a horny teenager. Feeling like she was a terrible mother she said to John, "Fine. Lets just get out of here, please? The cops will want to go over the place when the forensic people get here." Natalie told him.

They walked back to the car in silence. It wasn't until they had gotten in and he had started the car that she asked, "What did it mean? FATHER. I don't understand it. Whose father?" Natalie asked him.

John took a quick glance at her, remembering the feel of her against him, and shook his head. "I don't know," he told her truthfully. It was a clue, a lead, but not much of one. "Maybe she gave your baby to its father."

"That's not possible," Natalie said somewhat bitterly.

John narrowed his eyes at her and asked, "Why not?"

Natalie took a deep breath and prepared herself for the disgust that she would see in his eyes, "Because I have no idea who Alex's father is."

John absorbed this news with a mixture of dismay and relief. The dismay because the fact obviously bothered her a lot and relief because...because...well he wasn't doing to answer that, even to himself. The answer was too damning, and too dangerous to his piece of mind. "Why? He didn't..." He trailed off, hoping that she hadn't been raped. He didn't think so but he couldn't be sure. She didn't answer for a long time so he put the car in reverse and backed into the street. Putting the car into drive he started back to Llanview and still she hadn't answered. He had just decided that she wasn't going to answer at all when she spoke.

"No, I wasn't raped. But Alex's conception isn't something I am proud of. I had just broken up with my steady boyfriend of 3 years and I went to a bar." She paused and shot him a look that told him she was ashamed of what she had done and then continued to speak. "As you can guess I got drunk. Really drunk. I picked up a guy and took him to a motel." She again looked at him, trying to judge his reaction. She didn't see disgust on his face, instead she saw understanding. That gave her the courage to go on.

"The next morning I woke up and I couldn't remember what had happened. I didn't remember the night before at all. I took a shower and remembered a face, his face. To this day that's all I remember of that night. Just his face. And the worst part about the whole thing was that he left me 100 dollars! He thought I was a hooker!" Natalie began to cry at that. The tears ran down her face but she made no move to wipe them off.

John saw how distressed she was and pulled over to the side of the road. He turned to her and cupped her face, "It's ok, Natalie. It will be ok. We're going to find your daughter and we'll bring her home to you. I promise!"

Natalie looked at him, he eyes still wet with tears and said, "Don't make promises you can't keep John."

"I never do." He told her with quite certainty. He would bring her daughter home to her even if it killed him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"That bastard! I am going to fucking kill him!" he ground out as the doctor pulled the bulled out of his leg. The task was made difficult buy the missing finger on the doctors left hand. "Sew it up!" He said to the Doctor. As the doctor followed his order he thought of what had happened today. He had been so close to getting the brat. That baby was the bargaining chip he needed and he would have it!

The fact that the child was his own flesh and blood made no difference to him. It only furthered his goal. He had no desire to be settled with a squalling brat and as soon as he accomplished his goal the kid could go to hell for all he cared. He would have revenge on all those that had wronged him! John McBain had just been added to that list. He had been going to just injure the man and take what he wanted, but now... Now McBain would suffer!

**To be continued...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 11**

It had been three weeks since Josie Anderson's murder and there were still no leads on Natalie's daughter. She was beginning to think that they would never find her. The fact that they had been so close to finding her only added to Natalie's hopelessness. The only plus to any of this was that there had been no further attempts on her life and of course her newly found family. Natalie sat on Angel Square Hotel's roof and thought about all that had changed in her life since John had rescued her.

Once the rest of the Buchanan's had been told about her it had been like a tidal wave of introductions and forced affection. It had been forced on both sides. Natalie really wasn't in the mood to meet her family (she just wanted to find her daughter) and most of her family didn't know how to act around her. The only people she felt comfortable with were her uncle Bo, her biological mother Vicki and Jessica. Her father, Clint Buchanan, hadn't even bothered to come to Llanview to meet her. He had just sent a video of himself. That had hurt. She didn't even know this man but oddly his rejection of her hurt her deeply. It also brought out her insecurities and her fear of never being loved like she wanted.

Her Grandfather Asa Buchanan was out of town and unreachable so he hadn't been told yet. According to Jess he was the one Natalie most took after. Natalie didn't know whether this was a good or a bad thing. From what she had been told about Asa he sounded like a mean old guy. But John had convinced her to reserve judgment until she met the guy.

John...He was the one person that she didn't have to pretend with. He had already seen her at her worst and hadn't flinched. He had been more of a comfort than he could ever know. Through the disappointment of not finding Alex right away to helping her deal with her new family and the death of Roxy. Oddly when Bo had told last week that Roxy had been murdered she hadn't been all that surprised. It was as if, somewhere deep in her mind, she had already known that. Not that it hadn't hurt to hear because it had, a lot, but the news had felt like a confirmation of something she had long suspected.

Rex had been devastated by the news as well. Shelly had helped him through the worst of it and for that Natalie would always love her. In the past three weeks Rex and Shelly had been almost inseparable. Their love for each other was obvious to anyone that looked at him and secretly Natalie was slightly envious of their relationship. She longed for a man to look at her the way Rex looked at Shelly, or the way Michael looked at Christina for that matter.

She took a sip of her beer and sighed. Romance wasn't the only thing on her mind though. Her daughter remained first and foremost in her thoughts. Her need to have her daughter back seemed to get stronger every day and if they didn't find her soon Natalie was sure she would go crazy.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear John until he joined her on the bench. "Hey," he said, "How are you?"

Natalie turned to him and had to fight back the urge to touch him. It had been like this since that passionate embrace the day Josie had died. The sexual tension always seemed to hum between them, right beneath the surface. But even with the pull between them John had keep to his word and hand not made any kind of advance on her again. They had kept their relationship strictly platonic, though she had seen him on more then one occasion looking at her in a way that was so heated that she had to look away or risk throwing herself at him and beg him to make love to her.

"Natalie?" John asked when she didn't reply. She was staring at him strangely and he didn't quite know what to make of it. She had done so several times before and the man in him wanted to think that she was staring because she wanted him. The realist in him told the man to shut up and be quiet. After three weeks his desire for her hadn't waned, in fact it had only grown stronger. It seemed like the more he got to know Natalie the more he wanted her and not just in bed. He knew the timing was terrible but he couldn't help it. So far he had managed to keep his hands to himself but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it that way.

"What?" Natalie asked absently, her voice soft as if she was afraid to disturb the silence.

"Are you ok?" John asked worriedly. He was beginning to get concerned. She seemed so distant, so forlorn.

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just..." she trailed off.

"Just what?"

"I don't know. It just seems like every time we get a little closer to finding Alex something happens and we end up right back to where we started, with nothing." She told him sadly, her despair evident in her tone. "I just want her back, John."

John put his arm around her and pulled her to him. As he hugged her he kissed the top of her head tenderly. She had been so strong these past weeks. Meeting her Buchanan family, finding out about Roxy, dealing with the fact that her memory hadn't returned yet, during all of it she had been strong but now he could see that she was close to breaking. He had been there with her through it all and she had been strong, determined to get through it all and come out better for it. Seeing her looking so...so...fragile made him want to hold her forever and protect her from everything bad in the world. "We'll find her. We knew when we started this that it wouldn't be easy but we will find her. You just have to believe it," he murmured into her hair.

Natalie snuggled into his embrace and heard his words, "It's just so hard. I feel like it's my fault. If only I could remember, if only I had done something to stop them from taking my baby." She said as tears began to run down her face.

John pulled back and looked at her wet face. He put a hand on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "It's not your fault! You can't blame yourself, Natalie. Bad things happen to good people. I have seen it again and again, the only thing that we can do is try to fix it and then move on with our lives."

Natalie was touched by his words. Obviously he meant them and that made them all the more special. "I don't know what I would have done with out you these past few weeks John. You're the best friend I've ever had. I'm going to miss you when you go back to the FBI."

John froze at her words. Truthfully he had been thinking more and more about his job. He loved it but after meeting Shelly and then Natalie suddenly it didn't seem so important. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to the FBI after this case, though he wasn't officially on the case at all. He was on family leave for another week then it would be time to make a choice. "Actually...I have been thinking about staying in Llanview after this case is over." He told her.

Natalie looked up at him in shock and then began to smile. "Really? That's wonderful!" she said excitedly, threw her arms around him and hugged tightly.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Three weeks! It had been three weeks since he had heard anything from his plant at the Llanview police station. The waiting was making him angry. He wanted to be rid of them all. Once and for all but he couldn't do that until he found out their weaknesses. When he did he would destroy them! No one would get away from him this time, NO ONE!

He cursed the day John McBain had come into his life. Things had been almost perfect before McBain had come. He had just had to play the hero and rescue her! He was beginning to hate McBain even more then her. Every time he had been close McBain had gotten in the way! He grabbed his phone and made a call. Maybe if he found that blasted baby he could lure McBain into a trap. With him out of the way getting to her would be easy pickings. He knew just the person to help him with such a task. Dialing the number he waited for someone to pick up.

"Llanview Hospital. May I help you?" said the pleasant voice of the receptionist.

**To be continued...**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 12**

The day after their conversation on the roof both John and Natalie sat at a booth at Rodi's. They were waiting for a contact to show up. John had gotten the call in the early morning hours from a person claiming to have information about Natalie's baby. Natalie was nervous and skeptical about this since none of the other leads had panned out. She shifted in her seat anxiously and glanced at her watch again. 'They were late,' Natalie thought to herself then, 'They're not coming.'

John looked at Natalie as she moved restlessly in her seat. For her sake he hoped that this was a credible lead. After these past weeks another disappointment wouldn't be good at all. He also glanced at the clock on the wall and wondered where this person was. They were 10 minutes late. He sighed and looked around once more to see if he could spot anyone that seemed out of place, like they didn't belong. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary yet and again he looked at the clock.

"It doesn't look like they are coming." Natalie said, disappointed yet not surprised. Suddenly a young boy came to their table and asked, "Are you John and Natalie?"

John looked at the kid surprised and answered, "Yes, we are."

With out uttering another word the kid handed Natalie an envelope, turned around, and ran off. Natalie looked at John, puzzled.

John took out a pair of gloves, put them on, and took the envelope from her. Using his pocked knife he slit the top and pulled out thin sheet of paper. The words on it made no sense to him and he read them aloud.

_Dead yet not dead. The Angel flew the coup and left Froggie all alone. Find Froggie and you find your baby._

"What the hell does that mean?" Natalie wondered darkly. This was their clue? It made no sense at all. Obviously it was a riddle of some kind but it made no sense to her.

John was equally as confused. He had no clue what the words meant. Froggie? Who was Froggie? "I don't know what it means. Lets think on it some. Maybe we can figure it out." He sat there pondering the meanings of the words and for the life of him he couldn't figure out what they meant. He was about to give up and call Bo when he saw Shelly and Rex come in the door. He frowned a little at them holding hands but let it go. Natalie had nicely and then not so nicely told him that Shelly and Rex's relationship really wasn't any of his business. He didn't have to like it but in order to stay in Shelly's good graces he had to accept it.

They came over and joined them and when Natalie and Shelly hugged each other tightly he was a little shocked. He hadn't realized that they were such close friends. He clearly hadn't been paying enough attention to what was going on around him. After all he hadn't noticed that Michael and Christina were close and had fallen in love until they had announced that they had gotten married! He had about passed out at that news!

He looked between Rex and Shelly and saw the looks that passed between them. Their feelings for each other were obvious even to someone that didn't know them. Even seeing this John still couldn't shake the feeling that Rex was bad for Shelly, that he was using her somehow. Rex had still killed someone in cold blood after all, Shelly may have forgotten that fact but he hadn't. But until he had something other then a feeling he had to keep his mouth shut.

Shelly saw the look on John's face, the one he tried to hide. He still didn't trust Rex, even after all that had happened. She held back a sigh and turned to Natalie again. She was looking even worse. She had said something about meeting an informant here so she asked, "So, how did it go? Did they show?"

Natalie blinked back tears of frustration and looked at Shelly. They had been close since that day in the hospital. Shelly was the only female that Natalie had ever considered a best friend, though in reality she was more like a sister to her. Natalie felt the same love for Shelly as she felt for Rex. Though there was no blood bond between them it felt as if there was some special connection between her and Shelly. Shelly had told her she felt the same way. Shelly had told her of the vision that had saved her life and said that maybe because of that vision the two of them were linked somehow. And indeed over the last three weeks the feeling of being linked had only grown. Natalie herself had once found herself knowing that Shelly had been hurt. She remembered the panic she had felt until she had called John and Shelly's room and found out that Shelly had simply hit her head on a table while picking something up off the floor.

"Sort of," Natalie said and told her about the cryptic coded note.

"I don't understand," Shelly said looking between John, Natalie, and Rex. "Why would someone call and ask you to meet them here only to leave you a note that you don't understand?"

"To mess with us, or to waste time." John said discouraged.

"What if they thought they were being watched?" Rex asked. "Maybe they sent you the note because they had to keep it a secret."

John nodded at that and said, "That was my thought but why send such a cryptic note? It's not as if we are going to flash it around if we knew where Alex was."

Natalie frowned and then thought of something, "But who would you show it to? I mean you put on gloves so obviously you are going to take it to the police station so they can search for prints. Maybe the sender is worried about someone at the station seeing it and telling the person who shot at us at Josie's."

Shelly smiled at Natalie; she had been thinking the same thing. "Maybe there is a leak there. Or even a plant."

John looked at them both and grinned. That was a good idea and did explain some but it still didn't solve the riddle on the note. "Yeah, I am going to take it to the station and give it to Bo. He can check for prints and maybe someone there can solve the clue, if it means anything at all anyway."

Shelly was now really curious about the clue. "What _does_ it say? Can I see it?"

John smiled at her enthusiasm and moved his chair closer to hers. Tilting the note so that she could read it but not so that she could touch it, "Better not touch, we want as few prints on it as possible."

"_Dead yet not dead._ _Th_e A_ngel flew the coup and left Froggie all alone. Find Froggie and you find your baby._" Shelly mumbled the words under her breath. "Wow that is cryptic. How the hell is anyone supposed to understand that?"

Natalie was surprised at how let down she felt when Shelly didn't immediately say she knew what it meant. She hadn't realized until that moment that she had been counting on Shelly figuring it out when she and John couldn't. She sighed, crossed her arms on top of the table, and lay her head down. "We are never going to find her." She said brokenly.

Shelly wasn't listening; something in the wording sparked some seed of remembrance in her brain. "Dead yet not Dead. Dead yet not dead. Dead yet not dead." She mumbled to herself. It meant something to her. If only she could remember...

Rex heard her and said, "Maybe it means someone from the past. Someone you thought was dead but isn't."

But Shelly still wasn't listening, "Dead yet not. The Angel has flown the coup... The Angel has flown, Dead yet not..." She muttered again and again as her brain tried to supply the answer. She felt like it was staring her in the face and wasn't seeing it. Suddenly the TV behind the bar was turned up loudly and the answer dropped into focus for her. "That's it!" She all but shouted.

Everyone at the table jumped at her sudden exclamation. "What?" All three asked simultaneously, looking at her in shock.

"I figured it out, I know what it means!" She said excitedly, almost bouncing out of her chair.

"Well tell us!" John said.

"Dead yet not dead, the angel has left the coup and left Froggie all alone. Don't you get it? Dead yet not dead is describing the Angel. Angel is a TV show about Vampires. Get it Dead yet not dead! And the Station it was on was the WB Network, otherwise known as the Frog. The show was moved to UPN so it flew the coup. Get it? So Find the Froggie means find someone with the initials WB and then you will find Alex!" Shelly was so excited she missed both Natalie and Rex both turning pale at her words.

"But who has the initials WB and would be involved in baby kidnapping?" John asked softly, to himself. He was racking his brain trying to remember all the names from the files but he didn't really have to. Both Natalie and Rex knew who it was immediately.

Both Natalie and Rex answered, "WALTER BALSOM!"

**To be continued...**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 13**

John looked at Shelly amazed, "How did you know all that?"

Shelly was a little embarrassed, "I...Uh...Watch a lot of TV and David Boreanez is hot."

Natalie laughed both amused at Shelly's embarrassment and happy that they had something to go on. John just shook his head, but Rex however looked jealous, "Who is David Boreanez?" he asked her somewhat peevishly. He didn't like the idea of Shelly looking at other guys much less thinking that they were 'hot'.

Shelly looked at Rex and then grinned at his expression. He was jealous! He was jealous that she thought another man was good looking. She smiled up at him and patted his arm, "Don't worry, he is way out of my league, Rex. He's an actor AND he's married with children."

Rex was somewhat mollified but still was a bit miffed that Shelly found someone else 'hot'. Rex shook off his feelings of jealousy and got back to the matter at hand, "But Walter is dead. He has been for years."

"No, he isn't," Natalie said, her face paling again. She was remembering something. At first it was just a glimmer then, closing her eyes it became a full-blown memory.

**Flash Back.**

_She heard the door open but didn't turn around. No one had touched her sexually but she harbored the secret fear that one day that would change. Hoping that by ignoring them they would simply go away but that wasn't the case today. _

"_Hello Natalie," A smooth cultured voice said from behind her. Startled by the sound of the voice, having never heard that person before, she spun around and was startled at the person who stood before her. It was Walter Balsom! Her father, he was supposed to be dead!_

"_You, but you are supposed to be dead. Roxy told us you were dead. Why are you here?" Natalie stammered out. "You're my father aren't you, you're Walter Balsom."_

_Walter smiled smugly and said in a confidential tone, "Yes I am Walter Balsom but I am not your father."_

_Natalie let out a shocked gasp and sat down on the window ledge, "You're not my father? But.. but. Why are you here then? How is it that you're alive? Why have I been kidnapped?"_

_Walter smiled even wider and said, "All in do time dear. I just came to tell you that you will be going home soon…. One way or another." With that he turned around and left. Leaving behind Natalie completely shocked and scared._

**End Flashback**

"I saw him when I was kidnapped..." Natalie murmured in horror. She remembered how scared she had been when he had left the room. He had planned to kill her. She was sure of it. She flinched when another memory came back to her.

**Flash back**

_Natalie pretended to be asleep as the door to her cell, that's what she had come the think of the room, opened. She didn't even turn over to look and see who was coming in, she didn't really care. _

_Walter Balsom looked at Natalie, his adopted daughter, and smirked. There was so much she didn't know that she thought she knew. He kinda felt sorry for her but not enough to let her go. She had seen his face and heard too much. The boss wanted to kill her right away but Walter had other plans for her. _

"_What do you want now?" Natalie demanded with out turning around. It didn't matter who it was. They always wanted something. Information, a piece of hair, someone to gloat to; it was always something. "Or are you finally going to tell me why I have been kidnapped in the first place?" _

"_Well, well, well my dear I am going to do exactly that." Walter told her smugly._

_Natalie turned over at those words knowing who the voice belonged to. It was Walter and apparently he wanted to talk. Well she would talk to him if that was what he wanted. The more smug he was the more he might let slip. "Why Are you going to kill me after you tell me?"_

"_Oh no my dear, you don't understand. I am not going to kill you. I just want to have a friendly chat with my former daughter." Walter said testing her mood. If this plan of his was going to work he had to play this right. _

_Narrowing her eyes Natalie realized that he was up to something. She might be dirt poor but she had grown up on the streets of Atlantic City and could spot a con when she saw one. She decided to play along; find out what the con was before the opportunity passed. Maybe this was something she could use to get out of this hellhole._

**End Flashback**

She remembered that feeling of determination and hung on to it, fed it. Only now her determination was to find her daughter and bring her home. She understood now what Walter had been keeping from her then. He had known about her daughter and wanted to use it as leverage against someone. He had needed her too though, she was sure of it. Maybe now that she had escaped his plans had been messed up.

According to the note he had her daughter. She had to find him! And when she did he would tell her where her baby was, cause if he didn't she would beat it out of him herself. "All right. So how do we find Walter Balsom?" Natalie asked John. She knew he could help in this. He was FBI after all and very experienced at finding people that didn't want to be found.

"First you need to tell us what you remember about when you were kidnapped then we decide what to do." John told her, knowing the key to finding Balsom and Natalie's daughter might very well lie in her memories.

"Ok," Natalie said softly. She told them what she remembered, which wasn't much.

After she had finished Rex felt sick to his stomach. His father had been a bastard and he was ashamed to be related to such a man. "I'm sorry, Natty." He said quietly then got up and left Rodi's. He couldn't look her in the eyes knowing that his father did that to her, made her terrified.

Shelly looked after him, then at Natalie. Natalie nodded to the door and said, "Go to him. Tell him it wasn't his fault." Shelly nodded and took off after him. When she got to the parking lot she couldn't find him and his car was gone. She sighed and tried to think of where he might go.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It worked! He had known they would figure it out. He had actually been surprised that it had taken so long! He was so much better then her, he was than all of them! Now all he had to do was get Walter that baby and the rest would take care of itself.

He had sat back long enough and let her steal what should have been his all along. The rage built up and he slung a paperweight against the wall. It smashed into a thousand pieces and fell to the floor. He grinned at the mess he had made. That's was what he was going to do to all of them once everything was in place! There was a commanding knock on the door and he smiled, "It's time to begin!" he whispered to himself! He stood up as the door opened.

Mitch Lawrence stepped in the door and looked around, "Now, now. No need to make such a mess. There are better ways to relieve such tension. Look what I brought you." Mitch held up an adorable four-month-old baby girl. "Can't set a trap with out the bait can you?"

His earlier rage forgotten as he looked on to the face of Alexandra. He didn't see his daughter when he looked at her, he didn't even see an innocent human being. All he saw was the way to remove John McBain from his life. "Did you contact Walter yet?"

Mitch looked at the young man standing in front of him and bit back an expression of disgust. He couldn't believe this mans callous disregard for his own flesh and blood. His daughter meant everything to him and after all this played out he would have her back, one way or another. With the entire Buchanan clan's focus on Natalie Mitch would finally have his chance to take back what was his. One thing he had in common with the man in front of him. It was the only reason Mitch had gotten involved with this petty plan of revenge and also why he'd had Natalie Buchanan kidnapped in the first place!

**To be continued...**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 14**

Jessica ran to the entrance of the building. Hold the door she called out as she ran, her hands full of papers and other things. This was her big day and she wanted to make it as good as she could. As a junior reporter this was her big chance to prove to her uncle Todd that she could be put on the big stories. She had always wanted to be the best investigative reporter she could be and no was her chance.

She ran into the building and, thanking the man who had held the door for her, ran up to Todd's office.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Shelly ran after Rex. When she missed him in the parking lot she tried to think of where he would go. As she thought about it she realized that he would go to _their_ room, which was now the room he shared with Natalie. She made her way the short distance from Rodi's to the Angel Square Hotel quickly. Once she got there she hesitated at the stairs. 'What if he really needed to be alone?' she wondered to herself but then decided that after everything he, they, had been thru, he needed to be comforted.

She hurried up the steps and to room 212. With out knocking she tried the doorknob; it was open. She stepped in and looked around for Rex. She didn't see him at first. The first thing she saw was that he had thrown things around. Like he couldn't control his anger there were clothes all over and several smashed dishes on the floor. Calling, "Rex," softly she listened and waited. When there was no answer she called louder and finally he answered.

"Go away, Michelle." He answered. He had known she would follow him; it was her nature to protect and comfort the people she cared about. Even knowing this about her he had still hoped she wouldn't come. He felt dirty. He felt like it was his fault somehow that Natalie had been kidnapped and her baby stolen. He couldn't bear to look at the people he loved most in this world knowing that they must surly blame him too. It was after his father that took Alex, his niece.

"No!" Shelly said fiercely coming up to the window next to him. She put her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off. "I'm not gonna go away Rex! Not until you listen to me." She paused then said more softly, "Please."

He refused to turn around even though he knew she wouldn't leave. He just couldn't bear to see the disgust in her eyes. "Please Shelly" was all he said.

"No Rex." Shelly said again. She didn't understand what was the matter. She had known he would be upset that his father was alive and doing terrible things but he was acting guilty, as if it were his fault. Surely he couldn't think that anyone blamed him for his fathers wrong doings. "Rex..." she started hesitantly.

Hearing her again he suddenly turned on her and the look on his face made her step back a little. He looked so furious. When he took a step forward she involuntarily stepped back again. "See. You are scared of me now. Now that you know my father is alive!" Rex said harshly when he saw her movement backwards.

"I'm not scared of you, Rex." She said, suddenly not even a tiny bit scared of him now.

"No, not even if I do this?" Again his voice was harsh and unyielding. He pushed her, hard, and she stumbled back towards the bed. He was so angry and he didn't even know why. But he took it out on her. The look on her face, that trusting look, it just made him angrier.

'It was almost as if he was trying to scare her.' she thought looking up into his face after he pushed her. But she refused to be intimidated by him. She would show him that just because he father was a crazy psycho she didn't think less of him. She straightened up to her full height and boldly looked him straight in the eye. "If you want to scare me you will have to do better then that!" she said and then waited. She had no clue how he would react and she he did it shocked her.

Seeing her standing there, not backing down, but most of all not scared of him, broke his control and stripped away his defensive anger leaving only the gut wrenching sadness and horror. Suddenly it was too much and he went to her and fell to his knees, silent tears running down his face. When she fell to her knees with him he buried his head in her shoulder chanting, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Shelly held him tight, running her hand through his hair and placing gentle kisses the side of his face and neck. "It's ok," she told him over and over. "It's going to be ok." Finally he pulled back and looked at her still not quite meeting her eyes. She realized he was unsure of her feelings for him still and she brought both hand to his face. Cupping either side of his face she smoothed back his hair from his eyes, forcing him to look at her, "Nothing that you have done or that your father has done could make me stop loving you. I love you, Rex. Don't you know that by now?" she told him softly but with conviction.

Hearing her, her tone of voice, he couldn't help but believe her and he was filled with such tenderness for the woman in front of him. She was strong, and wise, and smart, and funny but most of all she was loving and forgiving. Even after the way he had treated her tonight she forgave him. Leaning forward slowly he gently put his lips on hers. The kiss was soft and gentle as he tried to show her how much she meant to him. When he finally pulled back he whispered, "I love you too."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

John stared after Shelly for a minute; he was so proud of her despite the fact that he didn't care for Rex. His little sister was quite the girl. She was not only smart but she was also strong. Thinking about just how strong brought back the fact that his little sister, his 16-year-old sister, had actually taken a life. She had killed someone and he wasn't sure if she had ever dealt with that. He knew that at the hospital when they had brought Natalie in she had been shaken up a bit, in shock really, but after they had talked she had seemed fine. He wondered now how much she was still affected by it.

"What's wrong?" Natalie asked, seeing his face.

"I was just thinking about Shelly. She shouldn't have had to go through so much." John told her, feeling sad for what Shelly had gone through.

"She is strong John. She can handle it." Natalie paused, unsure of how much to tell him then decided he should know that Shelly had told her about the man she had killed. "She told me about the guy she killed," Natalie told him softly. "She's dealing with it alright. Better then most people would."

John nodded relieved to hear that. He changed the subject and said, "So tell me what you remember about Walter Balsom before he disappeared."

Natalie told him everything she could remember about him, which wasn't much. Then she sat and waited for him to take it all in. After a moment she asked, "So how do we find him?"

John was thinking. Assuming the note was true then finding Walter would be difficult. If he had Alex then odds were he had a plan. His usual MO was to get rid of the kids not keep them except in Natalie's case. But if the note were a fake and meant to distract them going after Walter would be a bad idea. "First we go to the hospital and talk to Michael. Maybe he knows some doctors that might have worked with Walter Balsom before he disappeared," he told her. He decided that it was worth the risk if this clue led them to Alex.

"You think he might be able to tell us anything?" She asked hopefully.

"I don't know," John said thoughtfully. This was the only thing they had to go on right now so it was going to have to do. "I hope so."

As they headed out of Rodi's Natalie looked longingly at the pool table. Maybe some day when this was all over and she had her daughter back she could play again. She really missed it. "Lets go talk to Michael then. I think he is back from his honeymoon." She said with a slight laugh. Him getting married had shocked the entire town but after it wore off everyone could see how happy and in love he and Christina were. That gave her hope that maybe one day she could get her happy ending too, that maybe this lead would be the one that brought her daughter home.

**To be continued...**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 15**

After talking to Michael they had a name, Dr. Gary Halstead. Apparently he and Dr. Balsom had worked very closely together in the past. John glanced at Natalie and saw her watching him. He smiled reassuringly at her hoping he looked more confident then he felt. He would hate for this to be another dead end like all the others. He took in her appearance and his smile widened. She had really gone all out for this.

After doing a search on this Dr Gary Halstead he had discovered that he liked young girls barely out of their teens. So Natalie had dressed up and done something with her make-up to make herself look years younger. Wearing school-girlish clothes and her hair up in a youthful pony tail she looked about 14 or 15 rather then 23.

Nothing could hide her obvious curves though and so Natalie didn't bother to try. She simply wore clothes that displayed them in a manner that an over-endowed 15 year old would, which meant she looked pretty trampy. Maybe it was wrong of him but John found himself responding to her mode of dress. Her shirt was short and tight, pulling across her breasts and outlining her nipples for all to see. He looked at them and wondered what they would taste like. He skirt was also very short and tight not even covering a third of her thigh. The sight of all that bare thigh made him want to touch and caress it, to see if it was a silky as it looked. Her high heels were cheap looking and very high, a good 3 inches at least. They made her legs look really long and sexy and he imagined what they would feel like wrapped around his waist as he thrust himself into her.

Seeing John staring at her strangely Natalie said, "What? Don't I look alright?"

John shook his head and tried to think about something else, anything but his desire to make love to her right then and there. Looking back at the road he shook his head again and said, "You look fine. I was just worrying, that's all. I don't like the idea of using you to lure Halstead into our trap."

Natalie took his words at face value and shrugged, "If it got my daughter back I would dress up as a hooker and stand on the street corner. This guy, the perv that he is, likes young girls so if that's what it takes that's what he gets!"

John pulled up in front of the teen club Halstead was said to frequent and parked the car. He looked at her and said, "Just remember if he tries anything mace him or kick him in the groin. When you get him out of the club I'll take over. Ok?"

Natalie nodded, suddenly not nervous. She was determined to do this; it was the only way. Its not like the guy would talk to John, he was into some pretty heave stuff according to John's FBI contacts. She looked at her reflection again and winced, did 15-year-olds really dress like this? Looking around at the girls going into the club supplied that answer, yes they did. She added more of the garish red lipstick, then grinned impishly, leaned over, and kissed John on the cheek. She laughed at the bright red lipstick lips on his cheek and opened her door. John's amused 'hey' followed her as she got out.

Despite the grim circumstances John was grinning to himself as he watched Natalie saunter into the club. She really would have made a good agent if she'd had a mind to. He got out of the car and followed after her but then veered to the left, heading to the alley way exit they had agreed to. Natalie would lure Halstead out here and then they would 'question' him. It was a simple plan and hopefully an effective one. She was wearing an ear piece so she could hear and speak with him and she also had on a tracking device that was implanted in her earrings, just in case.

Natalie had seen a picture of Halstead so she knew who she was looking for. As she walked into the club her ears were assaulted with loud 'music'. The screen on a near by wall said the song was by some group called Disturbed and 'one would have to be disturbed to like to listen to that crap,' she thought to herself. She walked into the room and looked around for Halstead, also making mental notes on how the other girls were acting. She wanted to get this right and not tip him off. "I don't see him yet," she whispered to John, knowing he could hear everything that went on.

John head the loud bass drums clear out side but the rest he was getting through his own earpiece. But even over that god-awful racket he heard Natalie. "Ok, keep looking. His car is outside." John told her.

Natalie nodded, then realizing that he couldn't see her said, "Ok." She continued to mingle and got hit on by several young guys. She simply smiled at them and then walked off, hearing the words "bitch" behind her as she went. Suddenly the crowd parted for a split second and she caught a glimpse of Dr. Halstead. He appeared to be chatting up a young woman. "I see him!" she whispered to John and then began to make her way toward him.

As she made her way she began to imitate the mannerisms of the girls around her, hoping to catch his eye. When he glanced at her she smiled shyly then quickly looked away, and blushed as if embarrassed to be caught staring at him. When she again looked at him he had gotten up from the table and moved to the faux bar, it served only non-alcoholic drinks. She shyly made her way to him and sat down, making sure to give him a good view of her breasts as she did so. "Hi" she said to him and again looked at him shyly.

"Hi," Gary Halstead said to her. He looked her over and saw that she was gorgeous. Her features were young but her body was mature. Just how he liked his girls. She kept sneaking little glances at him when she though he wasn't looking and he grinned to himself. They never could keep their eyes off him, he had been blessed with a handsome face, and he loved when girls admired him. "What's your name?" he asked her

Natalie's smile widened and she said, "Shanna. What's your name?"

"I'm Gary." He replied and then smiled his killer smile at her, the one that made the girls swoon. "And how old are you Shanna?" He asked, wanting to know just how young she was. He would guess from her face that she couldn't be anymore then 16.

"I'm 15 and a half." Natalie lied and was disgusted when the perv grinned and his eyes narrowed in interest. Hiding her disgust she asked, "How old are you Gary?" She knew he was 45 but years of plastic surgery and working out made him look years younger.

"I'm twenty-nine," he lied to her. He bought her a soda and they talked for a while. After about 2 hours of flirting Gary suggested that she come out for a movie with him. Though it was exactly what she had been waiting for Natalie made a show of being reluctant. "I don't know... You're so much older than me..." She weedled, pretending she really wanted to go with him but was hesitant because of their age difference.

John grinned as he heard Natalie working Halstead like a pro. As he had listened to their conversation he had of course been disgusted with Halstead but more than that he had been impressed with Natalie. She played up to him and got him to open up more then he had ever hoped. No she was on the verge of getting him to leave with her and Halstead was left thinking that it had been his idea. "Good job," John whispered to her.

Natalie heard him and grinned to herself. As Gary tried to convince her to leave with him she pretended to be thinking it over. Finally after a little bit she made a show of making a decision, "Well ok. But just one movie. My mom will be here to pick me up in two hours."

Gary grinned to himself, "Two hours, I promise." He told her. He was confident he could get in her pants in that long. After all she had been checking him out all night, it was obvious she was attracted to him. They started walking and he steered her to the doors. Suddenly she stopped and asked, "What if my mother is watching to see if I leave early?" He grinned, even better! He looked around and noticed a side door. "Lets go out there then." He told her reassuringly.

Natalie rolled her eyes at his eagerness. He really was a perv! Forcing her self to act happy she followed him out the door and to where John was waiting.

**To be continued...**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 16**

John saw them come out and immediately put his gun to Halstead's head. "Don't move," he said. He motioned for Natalie to move over to him, as she did he looked Halstead in the face, "so you like little girls huh?"

Gary Halstead looked from Natalie to John and realized that he had been set up, "What do you want?" he asked nervously. He stared at the gun in John's hand and swallowed hard.

John smiled grimly and asked, "Where is Walter Balsom?"

Gary's eyebrows went up and he stammered, "He's dead! He died more then 15 years ago!" He looked again between John and Natalie before asking, "Can I go now?"

"No you can't," John replied, his gun never wavering from Halstead's head. He could see the other man was frightened, terrified actually. He could also see that he had no idea that Balsom was still alive. But that didn't mean he couldn't help find him. "Where did Balsom hang out? Who did he hang out with? Did he have any girlfriends?" John demanded.

"Olivia...Olivia Platt. He saw her a lot. She might know where he is if he is still alive. I hear she works at a hospital in PA now!" Gary said rapidly.

John nodded and noticed that Natalie had gone white. He didn't say anything then but instead asked Halstead, "And where did he hang out?"

Gary told them several places and then John let him go. He grimaced as Gary ran off to his car. That guy was a dirtbag but he knew if he turned him over to the cops he would be out in an hour with a slap on the wrist. He turned his attention to Natalie, "What is it?"

"Dr. Olivia Platt." Natalie told him.

"What about her? Do you know her?" John asked, not remembering the name.

"She was my Dr at the hospital! She is the one that told me that I had a baby." Natalie told him, unable to believe that she could be apart of all this. But a part of her wondered if Dr. Platt had been telling the truth.

"Don't even think it Natalie!" John told her, knowing what she was thinking, fearing. "You remembered giving birth. So you KNOW that she was telling the truth."

Natalie was reassured by his words. "Lets go see what she knows then!" she took off towards the car leaving John to catch up. Suddenly she stopped and waited for him. When he caught up she said, "Maybe we could go somewhere where I could change first though."

John looked her over and grinned at her, "Why? You look fine to me," he leered playfully to her. As he leered Natalie was struck by his gorgeousness. He really was amazing looking. He really had a great body too, when she saw him in his wife-beater and sweats he blood pressure went through the roof and his hair... She loved his hair, the way it was longish and so silky. For a second she was tempted to touch it but then she got a hold of herself and managed to restrain the impulse.

In spite of herself she laughed, "Knock it off John. I look like a teenage hooker!" after that they stopped at a McDonalds and Natalie went into the bathroom to change. After changing her clothes and washing off the heavy makeup she felt much better. "Ok, no lets go talk to Dr. Platt!"

John nodded and then they were on their way back to Llanview. He was convinced Halstead was telling the truth about Platt. He had been too scared to lie to them. He just hoped Dr. Platt could or would help them.

He drove for another four hours and by the time they got back to Llanview it was 4 am. He was exhausted and so was Natalie. After calling the hospital and finding out that Dr. Platt would be in at noon they decided to wait till the next day to talk to her. Deciding to get a couple hours sleep they made their way to Natalie's room. She opened the door quietly, incase Rex was asleep. He was sleeping in his bed but across from him in Natalie's bed was Shelly, sleeping peacefully.

John saw them as well and actually didn't get mad about it. If they had been in the same bed he would have been furious but seeing as they were in different beds he didn't have it in him to wake Shelly up and insist she go to their own room. And if he was honest with himself he had to say that he was looking forward to spending more time with Natalie. "Lets go to my room," he suggested and she nodded.

Natalie took one last look at Rex and smiled. Apparently Shelly had been able to calm him down and for that she was glad. She followed John across the hall to his room after getting a few things that she needed. She was suddenly so tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. Gathering her nightclothes she headed for the bathroom. "Mind if I go first?" she asked as she walked into the bathroom.

John chuckled at her question. Obviously it was rhetorical because she didn't even give him time to answer before she shut the door. He changed into his usual wife-beater and sweat pants and climbed onto the bed to wait his turn. He wouldn't have been a man if he hadn't though about what she was doing in that bathroom. His body reacted as his mind pictured her taking off her clothes and stepping into a sexy nightgown. He closed his eyes and pictured her combing her sexy long red hair. He started to breath a bit heavier and he became even more hard.

When he heard the water turn off he sighed and willed his body to calm down. The last thing he wanted was for her to open the bathroom door and see him with an erection. She might get freaked out and think he wanted to take advantage of her. Think about boring things he thought to himself, Baseball, golf, his high school math teacher! He thought about Mrs. Jacobs. It worked, and just as he was congratulating himself Natalie opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

"It's all yours," Natalie told him. She climbed into the bed across from his and lay down, oblivious to his inner conflict.

John sighed again, 'this was going to be a long night' he thought to himself. While her nightwear wasn't meant to be sexy he found the little kitties PJ's she wore incredibly sexy. It made his brain do straight to what might be under them. He got up and headed for the bathroom.

As John showered it was Natalie's turn to get lustful thoughts in her head. She kept imagining him getting into the shower naked and soaping up. She licked her lips and smiled as she imagined his wet soapy arms around her. She imagined water sliding down his muscled abs, as he stood there naked and aroused, reaching for her. She began to shift in the bed as the thought caused moisture to pool between her legs.

'She wanted him,' Natalie acknowledged to herself. She had been so determined to wait until Alex was back and more and more it was looking like it would take a long time if ever for that to happen. She wanted to be hopeful but it was so hard to keep on hoping and then be knocked back every time a lead came up empty. She lay there trying to decided if she had enough guts to go to him, to offer herself to him.

He had told her about Caitlyn and she was afraid he wasn't over her yet. What if she went to him and he turned her away? Or worse what if he took her and then decided he wasn't over Caitlyn yet? The other half of her brain said, 'what if he is already over Caitlyn and wants to be with you? What if he wants you but is scared that its too soon for you?'

She gathered her courage and sat up, making her choice. She sat on the bed and waited for him to come out of the bathroom. Knowing that when he did her life would never be the same but in a good way.

**To be continued...**


	17. Chapter 17 Smut

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway. **

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**Chapter 17 NC-17**

John expected Natalie to be asleep by the time he got done with his shower so when he came out of the bathroom after his shower he was surprised to see that she was awake and waiting for him. Their eyes locked and he felt his heart rate speed up. She was looking at him searchingly, as if trying to read his mind. He waited for her to speak but she said nothing, her gaze never leaving his.

As she stared into his eyes John walked over to the bed and said, "Natalie?" She didn't respond with words but her eyes spoke to his. They spoke of longing and desire, so much desire that he was momentarily stunned. It was a shock to know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He didn't know what to say so he simply sat down and looked at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

Natalie looked at John as he sat on the bed. His gaze was heated and filled with passion and desire but amid the myriad of churning emotions his eyes spoke of tenderness and hesitancy. He was waiting for her, leaving the choice up to her at where this moment led. But he didn't know that in her mind the choice was already made. Her eyes never leaving his, she moved next to him, leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was soft and gentle as their mouths moved against the other. Natalie moaned at the tenderness of his embrace, his arms gentle and comforting as he wrapped them around her.

They kissed for long moments, unrushed, taking their time in learning the others mouth. Finally John pulled back, breathing labored, for air. "Natalie..." He said still giving her time to change her mind. He wanted her, probably more then he had ever wanted a woman before, but he didn't want to pressure her or take advantage of her vulnerability.

In answer to his unspoken question Natalie brought her hands to his face and traced it tenderly with her fingertips. Softly touching his face she traced his jaw then his lips, moving on she ran her fingers over his forehead smoothing out the lines. She followed these movements with her lips, leaning in and placing little kisses on his face and neck. "I want this John, I want you," she told him as she slid her hands into his long dark hair, pulled his head forward slightly, and kissed his lips again.

John heard her words of reassurance and then her lips on his and groaned into her mouth. He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching hers. As he looked into her ocean blue eyes he saw what he needed to see and he tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and kissed her deeply. As he thrust his tongue in her mouth, tasting the sweetness of it he moaned.

Natalie felt his acceptance of the inevitable and reveled in it. His tongue stroked hers causing a maelstrom of feelings to rise up in her. She wanted him but more then that she cared about him. 'She might even love him...' the thought startled her but even as she thought it she recognized it as the truth. Against all odds and against all her efforts not to fall in love again, she had. She pulled back from the kiss to look into his eyes, hoping she could show him with hers just how much she cared, just how much this meant to her.

Silently looking into his eyes she reached for the tank he had put on after his shower and grasped the hem. Lifting it up, only breaking the eye contact to get the shirt over his head she tossed it aside. "John..." she murmured and bent forward to place an open mouth kiss on his bare chest, grinning at the rumbling groan the action dragged from him. Her need for him growing as he began to caress her back, his hands then came around the front of her shirt and cupped her full breasts, his fingers finding her nipples. Natalie moaned as her body trembled under his touch. Lifting her head up she watched his face as his hand left her breasts to unbutton her pajama top.

As John unbuttoned her top he had to control himself and force himself not to simply rip the garment off her. He was filled with the overwhelming need to make this moment last. He wanted her to remember this for the rest of her life. He gently pushed her back until she was leaning backwards against the headboard. He followed with as he continued to slide the buttons from their holes. As he undid the last he, using an enormous amount of self control, tenderly parted the material, revealing her full breasts. "Beautiful" he breathed as he bent his head. Natalie moaned in anticipation and he smiled. His hands still holding onto the edges of her top he placed his mouth on her breasts and began to kiss them. Circling around her nipples but not touching them until they became stiff peaks on their own. Only then did he take one into his mouth, running his tongue over the distended point before sucking as much in as he could.

The feel of his mouth on her breasts was driving her crazy. She slid her hands into his hair and pressed him closer, urging him to her other breast. She let out a passionate cry as he brought his hands over and began to knead her breast as his mouth worked on the other. 'This was heaven' Natalie thought, her body moved restlessly as passion built up in her. After a long while of pleasuring her breasts Natalie moaned as John pulled back. Her disappointment was short lived however as he brought his hands to the waistband of her pajama bottoms. But then he paused and she looked up to see him looking at her questioningly.

John was breathing hard and he wanted to feel more of her. He wanted her naked and trembling beneath him but still he paused. He had to be sure that this was what she truly wanted. So he looked into her eyes for the answer. At the look of want in her gaze and the nod of her head he slid her body down on the bed and when she arched her hips he pulled the bottoms off her and threw them too the floor. He looked at her and was awed by the image she presented. Naked from the bottom down he saw the little red triangle of hair between her legs, from the waist up all she wore was her pajama top that was wide open revealing her perfect creamy white breasts that were made to fit into his hands. He groaned low in his throat as her legs parted slightly and he could see the wetness of her.

Natalie was hot, her body burned as he looked her over with his scorching gaze. The look of desire on his face was enough to make her tremble and her legs parted slightly in response. Tired of being passive she reached up a hand, caught his wrist, and pulled him to her. He grunted and fell forward, catching himself with his other hand so he didn't crush her. Natalie hooked a leg around his waist and arched up into him, grinning as he moaned against her mouth.

John took her lips in a fiery kiss, his hands now moving all over her body only to get tangled in her top. He pulled her up slightly and helped her remove it while unconsciously moving his hips against her rhythmically. After he got her shirt off he brought one hand down and touched her moist curls. He moaned at how wet she was for him and then sank a finger into her moaning again as she clenched around him.

Natalie arched up sharply and moaned, "Jooohnn!" loudly as his finger entered her body. Fire shot through her and she clutched at his shoulders before moving her hands down his back and under his sweat pants to his butt. She gripped his butt and he began to move his fingers inside her, then adding another. She was gasping for breath and moving her hips against his hand as the pressure built inside her, begging for release.

John felt her hands on his butt and thought he would die of pleasure. His fingers inside her and her hand clenching him in passion were just too much, he had to be inside her and soon. He removed his hand from her body leaned away from her and pushed he sweats down his hips, with her help he kicked them off and they too landed on the floor.

Now they were both naked, skin to skin. Nudging her legs apart gently he slowly lowered himself onto position. He gripped her hands and brought them above her head, pressing them into the mattress. Looking into her passion glazed eyes he slowly thrust his hips and began to enter her body. Inch by inch he slid inside her, shuddering as she surrounded his aching flesh. He moaned as he slid fully inside. "Oh god..." he moaned out.

Natalie felt his invasion and gasped for breath. It felt so good. She clutched at his hands and arched her hips to take him into her more deeply. As he seated himself to the hilt they stared into each other's eyes, the connection flowed between them strongly. The deep connection only added to the pleasure as John began to move, his eyes never leaving hers. As their passion took hold the pace quickened soon Natalie was gasping and moaning under him as he plunged in and out of her body. Her body tightened and burned with each movement until finally she snapped and she shouted, "Jooohhnnn!" as her body quaked and she tumbled over the edge into ecstasy.

John felt her inner muscles milking him with her release and he thrust into her once more before following her, as he called out her name in a rasping moan. His body stiffened and trembled as he emptied himself into her, his eyes still on hers. Finally as he finished and his body relaxed he rolled off of her, still breathing heavily. He felt her shift next to him and he rolled onto his side. He played with her hair and wrapped an arm around her waist. Pulling her close, her back to him he rested his head on her shoulder. "You're amazing. You know that?" He said to her softly and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

Natalie smiled, her body sated and happy. "You're not so bad yourself" she said over her shoulder and snuggled into him. They were silent for a long while and soon Natalie heard his breathing even out and deepen and knew he was asleep. She smiled to herself again and closed her eyes, following him into a contented slumber.

**To be continued...**


	18. Chapter 18 Smut

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 18 NC-17**

John woke slowly feeling something brush against his face. Opening his eyes he saw that it was Natalie's hair. Lying on his back he realized that he was in bed with Natalie. She was snuggled next to him, her hair in his face and her arms draped over his waist. He grinned as he thought about the night before. After the first amazing time they had made love two more times. He couldn't get enough of her. Even now, just the memory of last night made him hard and aching. He wanted her again but knew that she must be exhausted.

He started to roll over but her arm tightened on his waist, holding him in place. Looking at her face he saw that her eyes were closed. Figuring her was still asleep he went to get up again but this time it was her voice that stopped him.

"Don't go," Natalie murmured, her voice husky with sleep. She smiled against his shoulder and pressed a kiss to it. "I like you here." She told him lazily.

"Keep that up and you'll have more then you bargained for," John told her, his voice raspy with desire in reaction to her little kiss and her arms on him.

Natalie rose up on her elbow and looked at him, an innocent smile curving her lips. "Really?" she asked moving her hand down to clasp his rigid erection, her smile widening at his gasp. "What will I get if I do this?" She asked him as she began to move her hand up and down on him.

"I'll show you," John said then groaned when she tightened her grip and pumped him a little harder, faster. "Naaatalie," he moaned in pleasure, his head hitting the pillow hard as he threw it back in passion.

Natalie looked up at him innocently and asked in a prim voice, "Yes, John?" and moved her hand a little faster.

John could only grunt unintelligibly. His body now arching up into her hand as she pleasured him, then he reached for her. But she pushed his hands away and said, "No, no, no. I'm not done yet." And John groaned again as she lifted her self up and began to plant little biting kissed down his chest and stomach.

Natalie kissed her way down he chest and stomach, her hand still moving on his engorged member. Resting her chin on his stomach just below his belly button she looked up at him, into his passion glazed eyes. His arousal was turning her on so much. The more he voiced his approval at her actions the wetter she became. But she wanted to make him crazy with want of her, wanted to here him beg her to take him into her. "Want me to stop?" She asked him teasingly.

Natalie was a little shocked at her wanton desires, never before had she felt this need to claim, to possess. She figured it was because she loved him. Yes she was well and truly in love with John. Some time between the first and third love making session she had realized and accepted that fact. When John didn't say anything she stopped her hand motions and asked, "Well?"

John heard her question through a haze of desire. His blood pumped hot and hard through his veins making rational thought near impossible. At her throaty question he moaned and dug his hands into her silky read hair and pushed downward, saying with out words what he wanted.

Natalie grinned feeling the pressure of his hands. Moving down to his erect penis she hovered over it close yet not touching it. As she breathed, her breath fanned over it and it jumped in response. Reaching out her tongue she licked the head, smiling a smile of pure feminine satisfaction as he moaned and tightened his fingers in her hair. "This what you want?" She asked him seductively.

"Oh god yes!" John moaned in the agony of want. He arched his hips up and pressed his throbbing erection to her lips. His eyes rolled back in his head and he let out a long shuddering sigh of relief when she opened her mouth wide and took him in. His hips fell back onto the bed and her lips followed not losing contact with his pulsing hard-on. He made a guttural sound in the back of his throat when she began to move her head on him, pulling back till he almost popped out of her mouth then going back down, taking in as much of him as she could.

She did this a few more times then her hands joined in on the action. One wrapped around the base of his erection and the other began to play with his balls. John lost it then. He sat up and pulled her away from him before she could take him over the edge. Breathing hard and his eyes glittering with a primal desire for her he got up onto his knees and pulled Natalie to hers as well. He moved so that he was closer to the foot of the bed and then turned Natalie around so that she was facing the headboard, still on her knees.

As John positioned her she knew what he wanted. Her thoughts were confirmed when he put a hand on her back and pushed her down, her hands gripping the edge of the headboard. She gasped as he moved her knees, widening her stance then gripped her hips and plunged into her throbbing wetness, burying himself to the hilt, his balls resting against her. She pushed back slightly and was rewarded with another grunt from John.

John gripped her hips tightly holding her in place while he tried to regain control. After a minute he slid his hands around to her front, bending over her back and began to caress her breasts, tweaking her nipples till they were hard points. Then he began his thrusts, a slow torturous rhythm that had Natalie pushing back against him, trying to up the pace. He kissed her back and quickened his thrusts moaning as her slippery inner muscles clenched at him, trying to hold him in, draw him deeper. Soon he was pounding into her in a rhythm that was wild and primal. He grunted as her hips slammed back against his pelvis, his balls slapping against her.

Natalie clenched her hands on the headboard; pushing back she met him thrust for thrust. Suddenly she let out a loud cry and her body tightened. White-hot pleasure slammed through her body and she came violently. Gasping for breath she let out another moan as her climax continued. "Jooohnnn!" she called out, her hips continuing to push back against him as she rode out her orgasm.

John thrust even more frantically as he felt her orgasm, then, in response to both her inner muscles gripping him and her cries of pleasure, he brought his hands back to her waist, thrust once more into her then became stiff and rigid and holding on tightly, he erupted, cumming as hard as she had.

They stayed like that, trying to catch their breath then John pulled out and flopped onto the bed, taking her with him. It was five more minutes before either of them spoke then John said, "Wow, what a way to start the day!"

Natalie, still breathing harder then normal, had to agree. She shifted her position so that she was looking into his eyes and was overwhelmed with feelings. Her eyes becoming serious she propped her head up on his chest and traced little patterns on his sweaty chest. "I love you, John."

John's eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed silently. He didn't know what to say. She had caught him totally off guard. Should he say it back? Should he kiss her? Should he ignore it? He didn't know. It wasn't that he didn't care about her or that he didn't love her but that he didn't know if he did or not. He cared about her very deeply but love? He wasn't sure. After what had happened to Caitlyn he had vowed never to love again. After all these years he wasn't even sure he knew how. He started to say something, he wasn't sure what, but Natalie put a finger over his lips, silencing him.

"I love you. I'm in love with you. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know." With that she placed a tender kiss on his lips, got off the bed and headed for the shower, leaving John, stunned and speechless, staring after her until she closed the door behind her.

**To be continued...**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

**Chapter 19**

After her declaration of love John had been quiet, seemingly deep in thought, but Natalie wasn't offended or even hurt. She had known he would react that way. John was a man of few words and she knew, from what he had said about his former fiancé, that he didn't believe he was capable of loving like that again. But she knew different. She could tell by the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, that he loved her. She didn't need to hear the words, she wanted to hear them, but she didn't need them.

They made their way to the hospital to talk to Dr. Platt and Natalie decided to concentrate on her daughter, because whether or not John felt the same way that she did about him, she was a mother. A mother with out her child. It was like there was a part of her soul missing. Even though she still hadn't regained much of her memory she still felt lost, her arms felt empty and she knew that was because she needed her baby. Everything else, including her love for John, wasn't as important as finding Alexandra.

Mitch sat in his car and watched. Bringing his camera up to his face he began to snap pictures of her. Of Jessica, his child. He would have her back soon. He glanced at his watch. 11:30am. She was right on schedule. He knew, from the week he had spent watching her, that she would take a half hour lunch and be back at noon then she would leave again around 1:30pm to go visit Nora Buchanan, Bo's comatose wife, and then be back at 3:00pm. She was anything if not predictable... He was going to have to break her of that habit...soon.

Shelly sat on the bed thinking. She was trying to figure out who was trying to kill her. The hit might have been called off but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone still wished her harm. Deciding that she needed some physical activity she put on her running shoes. Running had always been her meditation, the way to put the world back in focus.

Rex had gone out to talk to some contacts of his hoping to find out where his father was. She still felt terrible for him. His father was a horrible, horrible man and Rex's mother had been murdered; probably by Balsom himself. She sighed and got a pen and paper. Leaving a note that she would be back soon and that she was going for a run she left the room.

She ran along the sidewalk, her eyes on the pavement slightly ahead so that she didn't trip. She was deep in thought when suddenly she got a blinding pain in her head. "Ahhh!" she cried out and fell to the ground on her knees clutching her temples. There was a bolt of even more intense pain and she passed out, falling to the ground silently.

Vision 

_She was running. Looking around she saw trees, grass, and a park bench. She was at the park! Terror infused her entire being and she had to hold back a gasp. Some one was after her; trying to find her, kill her. Ducking behind a tree she hid, hoping, praying that they would pass her by. Her heart pumping furiously and her hands trembling she waited. _

_There! There they were! They were coming! Closer. Closer. Closer. They were there! Standing in front of her tree looking, looking for her! Please, Please go! She prayed. Please! One step, then two. They were going. Suddenly one turned and looked directly at the tree. He started walking towards her. Oh God! Oh God! He know! She thought! Her muscles tensed, ready for flight but terror held her in place. Too scared to move, to show herself. _

_He had found her. He knew where she was! Those thoughts broke the hold that the terror held on her and she whirled and began to run. There was a shout behind her then she heard footsteps pounding after her then she felt someone grab her throwing her to the ground. "HEEEEELPPPP!" She screamed as she began to struggle. Her attacker punched her, hard, and her head snapped back slamming into the ground. _

_She saw a gun and prepared to die. He was going to shoot her, she knew it! "Noooo! Stop!" She screamed. She heard, "Steven sends his love!" then nothing. She was dead before she ever heard the sound of the gun going off. _

_Suddenly Shelly was out side the body looking down. Observing the scene. She saw the location, the faces of the killers, the car they drove away in, but most of all she saw the victim, the woman whose head she had been in. _

End Vision 

Shelly woke up slowly, sat up, and looked around. Her head throbbed in pain as she turned her head to the side. She was back at the motel room and Rex was peering down at her anxiously. "Owww" she moaned, putting a hand to her head. "In the park. A woman getting attacked..." she moaned, shutting her eyes against the light; it added to the agony in her head.

Rex looked at her for a second remembering about her visions. She must have had one. He had gone looking for her after he had come back and found her note. Since she had told him in her note where she would be running finding her had been easy but when he had he had nearly had a heart attack. He had thought she had been attacked. When he had checked for injury there had been none and he had decided to bring her back to the motel and wait for her to wake up. That had been two hours ago. "What did you see?" he asked, talking about her vision. He sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. He needed to figure out what to tell Bo when he called him. He had to report what ever Shelly had seen and he didn't think the cops would listen to "Hey, my girlfriend had a vision..."

Shelly leaned back against him, grateful for his support. She felt comforted by his arms, safe. She sat quietly for a minute, savoring the feel of his strong arms around her then, told him about the vision quickly then asked, as he reached for the phone she asked, "How long was I out?"

"I'm not sure," he told her. "You've been out for two hours here but I'm not sure how long it was before I found you."

He shifted slightly and, still holding her with one arm, told Bo that a contact of his told him of 'job' that they were gonna do in the park that day. He told Bo everything he thought might be relevant and still sound as if someone was bragging about a job then hung up the phone. "Bo is going to take care of it." Rex told her and she was relieved. Both cause that woman wouldn't have to die but because it wasn't up to her to save her. She had never experienced so much pain from a vision before and was left feeling weak and shaky.

"Is it wrong to be glad I don't have to help her?" Shelly asked quietly, feeling guilty for her thoughts. She felt selfish for not wanting to be the one that helped her even is she wasn't exactly at her best.

Rex brushed her hair aside and placed a kiss on her neck, "No, it's not wrong, honey. You can't help everyone. Bo knows what he is doing; he can help her. Probably better then you can." He tried to reassure her. It worked. She felt better. They were silent for a long while, content just to be in each other's arms.

"Did you find your father?" Shelly asked, breaking the silence. She asked gently, not wanting to make him feel badly or guilty if he didn't.

"No, Not a trace." He told her, disappointed not to have found anything to help his sister get her baby back.

"John will turn up something," she was confident that John really would find something. She was also aware that he and Natalie had been getting closer in the past weeks. She hoped that he could find it in him to let Natalie in. She would be really good for him. She loved Natalie like a sister already and thought it would be wonderful if she and John got together. They could raise Alex together and be a happy family.

"Take care of it!" He said to Walter, handing him the baby. "I don't care what you do with the brat after but I want you to kill John McBain when he comes for the thing." He smiled then, an evil smile, as he thought about killing John McBain.

"On second thought," He said to a startled Walter Balsom. Standing up he walked over to Walter and stood in front of him. "I'll do it myself!" With that he took the baby from him and set the kid on the desk. He reached under the papers and brought out a dagger. In a blur of motion he stabbed Walter in the stomach. Then again, and again. Until Walter fell to the floor, dead. He started to laugh. That never got old...

Calmly as if nothing happened, he walked over to the baby bag took out a baby wipe and wiped off his dagger. Throwing the cloth on the body of Walter Balsom he sat down in his office chair and picked up the phone. "Yes? I need a janitor in here. I made a bit of a mess." He said with a little laugh. Picking up the knife again he stared at the little girl on his desk. She was playing with his stapler. He ran the knife lightly over her satiny cheek and laughed again, the sound chilling in the huge office, and the baby began to cry.

He looked at the crying baby and knew exactly how to get what he wanted. It was so simple and what's more his plan was a lot more fun then simply letting Walter Balsom kill McBain. Again he started to laugh. 'Everything was perfect...'

**To be continued...**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

**Chapter 20**

"Dr. Platt do you have a minute?" John asked as he and Natalie approached the older woman in her office. In her late fifties she had been a colleague of Walter Balsom back in Atlantic City. John's question had been purely rhetorical as he and Natalie sat in the chairs in front of her desk where she had been going through files.

"What? Oh. Yes." She said distractedly. Then turning her full attention on to them she said kindly," How can I help you?"

Natalie jumped in and asked bluntly, "What do you know about Walter Balsom?" She shrugged at John's annoyed look knowing that he had wanted to do the questioning himself. She simply didn't have the patience and she had found that direct questions gave the person little opportunity to avoid answering.

Dr. Platt frowned at the name, seemingly bemused at hearing that name after so many years. Her expression cleared up and she said, "Walter Balsom? Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. He's dead isn't he?" she replied.

"No," breaking in before Natalie had a chance John took control of the questioning. "He is quite alive." Waiting for that information to sink in then he continued with the questioning. He asked short direct questions and then circled around them till he got answers he was satisfied with. Finally he had nothing left to ask, he and Natalie thanked her for her time and patience, then left the room.

Oh his way out John stopped a nurse that had been passing meds near Dr. Platts' office and asked if the doctor had been seen with anyone suspicious lately or if she had taken any extended trips. Natalie stayed where she was sensing that the nurse was uncomfortable around her.

"No, not that I know of," said the nurse. She paused and just as John was about to walk away she said softly, "Wait." She looked around to see if anyone was looking or listening. Satisfied that there wasn't anyone she said in a confidential tone, "She got a call the other day. It really upset her. I didn't hear the conversation but she was really scared after she hung up."

John nodded that seemed suspicious to him and he began to doubt the good Dr.'s intentions. Maybe she was a player, or maybe a family member was hurt. He sighed not knowing what to think. "Did she say anything about it to you?"

"All she said was that it was a family emergency but that she didn't need to leave. She did say that she might have to leave unexpectedly if the situation got any worse." The nurse explained in a guilty tone as if she were breaking some sort of code about talking of other employees that worked in the hospital.

As far as explanations went it made sense but John decided to check it out anyway just to be sure. He nodded and thanked the nurse and then walked over to Natalie, who had stepped away to give them some space. "Now what?" Natalie asked.

John looked at her and smiled. "Now we go check out this address we got. I think she was telling the truth. I think we are gonna find Walter by the end of the day." He was optimistic but cautious. Something in him sensed that the Dr. had been telling the truth but another part of him was saying that there was more going on then anyone realized. He felt like he was being played, led around by the nose, and he didn't like it one bit.

Natalie heard the optimism in his voice and her spirits went up as well. Getting that address had seemed almost too good to be true but if John believed that it would lead somewhere then she believed too. She smiled widely at him and took his arm. "Lets go then!" she said cheerfully, then pausing and getting a grim expression on her face, "What if he isn't there? What if he doesn't have her? What if he won't tell us where Alex is?" She asked worriedly.

John hushed her nervous questions with, "We'll never know till we go."

She was still nervous but his words calmed her slightly and filled her with determination. She WOULD find her daughter. Natalie nodded at him and then they went to the car.

As Natalie got into the car after John she reached out to shut the door. Before she could John touched her arm lightly. Though the touch was light it froze Natalie in place, she somehow sense he was about to say something very important. Slowly she turned to him, looked into his eyes...and gasped. They were so full of unspoken emotion that her heart seized in her chest.

Now that they had talked to the Dr. and had some leads, however small, John felt his focus shift. He kept replaying Natalie's declaration of love. He was still stunned and confused but he needed to tell her something. "About this morning," he began haltingly, not used to talking about his feelings.

"You don't have to..." she started to say but John put a hand over her mouth, stopping her words.

"I just want you to know that...that...I really care about you. A lot...I...don't know if its love. Hell I'm not sure I can love anyone again but I do care about you." He told her, unsure him self about what he felt for her. He was new to the relationship thing. He hadn't been in a serious relationship since Caitlyn died and he was scared. Loving someone and then loosing them hurt so much and he wasn't sure he could ever let someone that close again.

Natalie saw his inner torment and knew he was thinking about Caitlyn, about how she had died. She knew that there was nothing she could say to make him feel better so she just cupped his face in her hand tenderly and said softly, "I know that John." She kissed him with all the love that she felt and said, "For now that's enough for me."

John was still worried about hurting her and asked, "What if I can never give you want you want, what you deserve?" He was terrified of hurting her with his inability to love.

"Let me worry about that. Really, let's just concentrate on the here and now and leave the future to God. Ok?" Natalie told him. She could see love in his eyes even if he hadn't realized it himself yet. That look gave her hope that one day he would acknowledge that love to himself and then share it with her. She took her hand away from his face and slapped his leg playfully, trying to lighten the mood a little, "No lets go find a dead man."

John grinned at her attempts to both reassure him and lighten the mood. Starting the car and putting it drive he left the hospital parking lot. "Let's go," he said and they were on their way back to Atlantic City and hopefully to Walter Balsom.

Bo hung up the phone after talking with Rex Balsom and shook his head. It seemed that Rex was intent on helping people. He seemed to want to change his ways and for that Bo was glad. He had done a background check on the young man and had found out that he had been in some trouble in the past. Obviously Shelly was having a good effect on the kid if he was calling in and ratting out his former friends.

Sending some of his people to the park he wasn't surprised when, after waiting only minutes, there was an attempted assault. Rex had been right and he had just saved a woman's life. Bo felt a pride in the young man that went beyond that which he normally felt for good samaritan's. In the past month Rex had helped on several cases and each time Bo felt his affection for the man grow. He knew it was probably a bad idea but he couldn't help it. Rex was beginning to feel like a son to him and what surprised him about that was that he liked the feeling.

So while he was feeling this pride for Rex he absently began opening his mail. One particular envelope caught his eye. It looked normal enough except for two things. First it had no return address and second it had no postmark. It was as if someone had slipped it onto his desk rather then mailing it. Frowning he opened it and was shocked at what he saw. It was a picture of Michelle Falk (Shelly) but the face had been cut out and replaced by a vulture's head. The body was also covered in what looked to be ketchup, simulating blood. Carefully he turned the picture over and saw that something was written on the back.

**Beware of those you know and those you don't, for the thief sneaks in the night bringing with it death and decay to the unwary.**

Cursing he picked up his phone and called John, he needed to know about this. As he waited he summoned an officer in and told him to go bring Shelly down to the station and then read the words on the back of the picture again. The words sounded like a warning to him about Shelly and his immediate thought was to bring her in and keep her safe but he knew that John had more experience with both Shelly and these types of cases. It would be up to John to decide what the appropriate course of action would be.

**To be continued...**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 21**

John heard his phone ring and cursed. He wished he had thought to turn it off. Digging it out he handed it to Natalie, "Can you answer that?" he asked, not wanting to talk on the phone while he was driving.

"Sure." Natalie said then opened the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Natalie? It's Bo. I need to talk to John." Bo said a little startled to hear his niece answer the phone. He hadn't known she was still with John. He got the feeling that there was more going on with them than they were letting on and he was happy about it. The LVPD needed a new Chief of detectives and if John McBain were to form a relationship with Natalie he might be more inclined to take the job when Bo offered it to him.

"Hold on a sec, Uncle Bo," Natalie told him and took the phone away from her mouth and covered the mouthpiece, "Bo wants to talk to you. It sounds important."

John grimaced then took the phone from her. Carefully watching the road he said, "McBain." He paused, listening, his frown getting more and more pronounced. "It said what!" John exclaimed, making Natalie jump, startled. "You have got to be kidding me. Death and decay? That's crazy!" he told Bo. "Ok, Ok. There is a safe motel near Frackville. It's about an hour from Llanview. Take her there. What? She won't go with out Rex?" John sighed. "Fine, take him too." He started to hang up then said, "Bo?" he waited a second then, "Thanks."

Natalie stared at him after he hung up the phone. After a minute she asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

John grimaced and threw a glance her way before returning his attention to the road. After another minute he said, "Bo got some twisted message about Shelly. He thinks it's a threat against her life so to be safe she is gonna go into hiding again till we figure out where it came from and what it means."

"Oh my god! Is Shelly ok? She wasn't hurt or anything was she?" Natalie asked, scared for her friend.

"She's fine. Bo had someone go get her and bring her to the station. She won't go with out Rex so he is going with her." He told her, his tone clearly indicated that he didn't like the idea one bit.

"And you're not going to raise a big fuss?" Natalie said with an amused grin. It was clear to her that he was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Shelly was going to be basically alone with Rex for an extended period of time.

John sighed in irritation and glanced at her again, seeing her amused grin he couldn't help but grin himself. "You know I don't like it. Shelly might have just turned 17 but she is still my little sister. I may not like Rex but even I can see that he loves her and will protect her. I just hate the idea that someone is going after her again."

Natalie laid a hand on his arm and noticed it was rigid with tension. "She'll be ok John. I know she will. She has both you and Rex looking after her." Giving his arm a gentle squeeze and then taking her hand back, "There's no one better to be looking after her. Plus she really can look after her self you know."

"I know. I'm still worried though. I just wish we knew whether the threat was serious of just some stupid prank."

"Uncle Bo will find out. You know that." She then grinned. "Lets just concentrate on finding Walter and let Bo take care of things in Llanview right now."

Seeing Natalie's excitement about finding Walter he felt an answering excitement himself. When they found Walter there was a good chance they would find Natalie's child. He knew enough to keep his expectations low though. After all it wasn't positive that Walter would even be at the address they had been given or if he had baby Alexandra at all. "You're right. We have to concentrate on finding Walter right now. Shelly is in good hands, I know that. Are you ready? We will be there soon."

"I am so beyond ready!" Natalie told him. She was so excited and hopeful yet scared as well. After all the disappointments and setbacks they had faced over the past month she was afraid this would be another dead end. She stayed silent for a long while trying to calm herself.

John pulled on to the street the house was on and they began looking for the right house. "There!" Natalie said pointing to a large two-story house. It was a ranch style house with an immaculately kept yard and Natalie wondered if this indeed was the right house. From what she remembered about Walter Balsom he had seemed scummy, unclean. To picture him living here was a stretch for her. When John drove by the house Natalie looked at him in confusion. "Why...?"

John looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Nothing says surprise more than pulling right into the driveway, huh?"

Natalie blushed and then shrugged sheepishly. "Point taken." She fidgeted while John parked the car up the street several houses. When he reached over her to the glove compartment to get a couple clips for his gun she grabbed his arm for a second. "John...?"

He understood her unspoken question and answered it. "It's just a precaution. You remember what happened the last time..." he told her and slipped the clips in his pocket. He got out of the car and, after she joined him, he said, "Remember Stay behind me till we know its safe. I don't want you getting hurt."

Natalie smiled at his concern and leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "No matter what happens, whether we find him or not, Thanks you! You have no idea how much you have helped me in the last month, John. I...I..." She stopped, too choked up with love for him to continue.

John pulled her to him and gave her a quick but deep kiss. When he pulled back he said, "You have done more for me then you will ever know Natalie. You don't ever have to thank me for helping you find your daughter!"

They shared a long look then John took her hand in his and they proceeded to make their way to Walter Balsom's residence.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

"You want me to what!" Shelly asked loudly. She had to be hearing things! No way was she going to run because of a stupid picture and a cryptic message.

"This was John's decision, Shelly." Bo told her. He had known that she would be resistant but he hadn't realized just how much. Even the promise of Rex going with her had softened her determination not to leave town.

"John's decision? Who the hell is he to be making decisions for me!" Shelly demanded.

"Since he is your legal guardian he has that right." Bo told her, un aware that she didn't know that John had petitioned the courts to become her legal guardian.

"What? John's not my legal guardian! My mom and dad are! What the hell are you talking about?" Shelly demanded, shocked and confused.

'Shit!' Bo thought. He had just stepped in it. "I thought you knew. John petitioned the courts and was declared your legal guardian last month. Eve and the Falks figured that he was the best person because you and he were so close."

Shelly sat down heavily on the chair behind her. "He didn't tell me..." she mumbled. On one hand she was touched that he cared enough to do that for her but on the other hand she was furious. He had made a life changing decision for her and didn't even tell her! Snapping her head up she looked at Bo, "Does he really think this is the only way?"

Bo was impressed with Shelly's ability to keep a clear head. He had expected her to rage at the fact that John had done something so big and not tell her but, although he could clearly see she was mad about it, she still was focusing on the matter at hand. "Yes, he does."

Shelly nodded, "Fine." The minute she saw John she was going to have a word with him! But until then she had to do what he thought was best, he was after all an FBI agent and knew what he was talking about. She trusted his judgment about these matters. "When do Rex and I leave?"

"Right now," Bo told her and just then a plan clothes officer came in and asked her to follow him. Before she was out of the office she turned back to Bo and said, " You tell John that we nee to talk when he gets back." Then she followed the officer out the door.

**To be continued...**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 22**

John stared at the body in front of him. It was Walter Balsom, or at least he thought it was since the man was lying on his stomach, face into the carpet. When he and Natalie had gotten into the house with out any problems he had gotten a bad feeling, now he knew why. Natalie hadn't seen the body yet; she was checking the rooms for any sign of Alexandra.

He didn't know what to tell her about Balsom, if this indeed was him. Bending down he turned the body over and looked at the face. Yup, it was Walter Balsom. And unless he missed his guess the man had been dead for several days. "Damn it!" he muttered and began to turn the body back over.

"Oh no!" Natalie exclaimed as she entered the room. She saw Walter there, on the floor dead, and felt like someone had just punched her. Her earlier optimism died and was replaced by hopelessness. Her eyes drifted over the body and she saw that his entire midsection was covered in blood. The smell was terrible and she suddenly was hit with the urge to retch. Turning on her heel and ran out of the room and out of the house before stopping and vomiting in the bushes. When she was finished she sank to the ground and began to cry as all the past failed leads and false hopes hit her.

John was startled when she bolted out the door. He swore softly and then went after her. He got outside and saw her crumpled up on the grass, crying. His heart almost stopped at the sight. Keeping an eye on her he took out his phone and called the police. Then he quickly hung up and went to her. He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, wanting to pull her into his arms. When she turned to him and buried her face in his shoulder he sat down on the ground and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Shhh.." He murmured into her hair. "Its gonna be ok." He was shocked at the wave of tenderness that went through him. He just wanted to keep her safe and protected. He suddenly felt ashamed that he had let her see Walter like that, on the floor.

Natalie cried softly into his shoulder for several long moments then pushed back slightly. She was embarrassed to have broken down and even more so because he had seen it. She hated to cry. Steeling her resolve she pulled herself together and got her emotions back under control. "Did you find anything? Any clue?" She asked him once she felt up to talking.

"No, I didn't really have a chance to look." John said, not wanting to tell her that his main concern had been making sure she was ok. He barely glanced around the room before following her out of the house.

Now firmly back in control, Natalie stood up and squared her shoulders. "Well let's go look. You know that the locals won't let us once they get here."

John stood up as well, amazed by her change in attitude. Just a minute ago she had been crying as if the world was ending but now she was calm and collected. "Are you sure?" He asked, meaning that she would have to see the body again.

Natalie understood his question and nodded. "I can handle it now. It just caught me by surprise, seeing him like that." She straightened her back and marched back into the house, determined to find a clue that would lead her to her daughter.

John's admiration for her went up another notch as he followed her into the house. As he went in he took time to study his surroundings, noting anything that might be out of place. As he looked around the house he noted that it was sparsely furnished and it looked like it had not been lived in for some time. This was confusing to him since they found Balsom's body here.

"John!" Natalie yelled from upstairs and John took off running. Taking the stairs two at a time he raced to her. Once he reached her he looked at her with alarm. "What's the matter?" he said, out of breath.

"Look!" she said, holding up a baby rattle. "She was here!" She was so excited, it wasn't much, but it was something. No all they needed was to find something else to lead them in the right direction. It was then that Natalie noticed the blinking answering machine. Thinking it was a weird place to put one, upstairs as apposed to downstairs by the front door, she looked at John. By the look in his eyes he too had noticed the answering machine.

John was excited too. A baby rattle was small but it was a step in the right direction. He followed her gaze to the answering machine and he too noticed it was blinking. Taking out a cloth he used it to cover his finger as he pushed the play button. As they listened a garbled voice sounded out.

"Balsom! Where is the baby! I want that baby! If you don't tell me where she is you're a dead man!"

Natalie looked at John in shock and he looked back, his expression puzzled and slightly confused. "Why would Balsom double cross his partners?" John asked out loud to himself. It was all so confusing. It sounded as if Balsom had gotten the baby and then hid her somewhere where no one could find her.

"Maybe he was afraid they would turn on him. From the looks of him in the other room it was a correct assumption." Natalie said, answering his question. "But what did he do with her? We have to find her!"

"Lets keep looking," he said, "there has to be a clue here somewhere." With that he put on some gloves and tossed a pair to her. "Here, we got to hurry if we want to find something before the locals get here." It had only been 10 minutes since he called them but he knew they would be here any minute.

Natalie nodded and put on the gloves. After she did that she began to search the desk. A minute later she said, "Hey, I think I got something!" Pulling out a well worn address book she waved it at him.

He was about to reply when he heard some cars pull into the driveway. "It's the locals. Here put that in your purse! We'll look at it later." He said, tossing her purse at her. He took off his gloves and quickly stashed them. Natalie did the same.

Natalie caught the purse and quickly shoved the address book into it. A second later John grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room and down the hall to the doorway of the room Walter was in. They just got into position when several uniformed cops came up the stairs and looked around. "Here," John called out.

"The body is in here." He said to the senior officer. Showing them his badge and telling them that he and Natalie had stayed outside the door to make sure no one disturbed the body. After answering a bunch of questions they were cleared to leave. John made them promise to call him with any leads in finding Natalie's daughter then he and Natalie left.

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Shelly opened the door to the motel she and Rex had been brought to. The officer assigned to protect them at the next room over but there was a joining door incase something should happen. They didn't actually expect any trouble and was a precautionary measure. Rex followed her in and she muttered to him, "Nice place." Her sarcasm evident in her tone.

Rex smiled slightly at her tone; the place was a dump. The only thing that was even remotely clean and sturdy was the beds. Thinking about beds and Shelly caused his mind to go places it shouldn't and he sighed. This was going to be torture. He wanted her so much but he loved her enough not to push. Just because she turned 17 didn't mean she was any more ready to make love then she had been a month ago. "I've seen better," he said back dryly.

Shelly looked back at him and saw that he was staring at her. The look in his eyes made her blush and look away. She knew that he desired her; she wanted him too. But he seemed to be holding back. They would go so far then he would call a holt and practically run from the room. With out thinking she turned back around and put her arms around his neck. "Alone at last." She commented.

Rex smiled at her; he loved it when she took the initiative. Looking around quickly he noted that the officer that was going to be guarding them had indeed went to his own room. Knowing that he bent his head and kissed her gently, showing her how much he cared. Soon however the kiss became more and more passionate and he pulled back breathing heavily. Struggling to gather his wits he stepped away from her and picked up his bag. Looking at her briefly he said in a slightly unsteady voice. "Which bed do you want?"

She grinned at his obvious attempt to distract her and then shrugged; they had plenty of time for kissing. She picked up her own bag again, walked over to one of the beds, and set the bag down. Plopping down onto the bed she looked at him, "This one I guess," thinking that it was going to be a long night.

**To be continued...**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 23**

'It was working, his plan was working' Mitch thought to himself happily. The psycho was keeping McBain and Natalie busy and that totally left him time to get in and snatch his sweet Jessica. He yearned to share his world with his only child. Blood was everything to him and he knew he wasn't getting any younger. If he were to pass his empire on to her she would need to be taught. That meant that she needed to be conditioned right away.

"Soon my child," he whispered to himself as he watched her walk into the store. "I'm coming soon..."

On the way back to Llanview Natalie took out the address book and began to flip through it. There were at least a hundred names in it. "What do we do now John?" she asked. It felt like a lifetime ago that they had left Llanview when it had only really been hours. So much had happened since then. To have a lead then to lose it in such a horrifying way made her feel like she had somehow walked into a bad horror movie. The image of Walter Balsom's body lying there so bloody and gruesome still caused her to shudder with revulsion.

"We take the book to Dr. Platt. Maybe she will recognize a name. I know it's a long shot but it's the best we can do right now." John said as he took an exit off the highway. They were going to head straight to the hospital and question Dr. Platt again. If she recognized one of the names in the book that would give them a place to start looking for Alexandra. This time John's gut told him that they were close. He felt that they would find Alexandra very soon!

Natalie fell asleep on the way back to Llanview. When she woke up they were pulling into the hospital parking lot. Sitting up straight she noticed that John had thrown his jacket over her and she felt her heart melt at the gesture. She loved him so much. Wanting nothing more then to lean over and kiss him she did just that. Leaning close she pressed an impulsive kiss to his cheek. "I love you," She said as she pulled away.

John turned to her as he turned off the car and smiled. Reaching for her he cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. This time his mouth was on hers and he kissed her with all the passion he felt for her. When he pulled away her eyes were dazed and full of desire. Grinning to himself and pushing back his rampant need he said softly, "We're here."

Natalie shook her head to clear her thoughts and focus. It was difficult because she wanted him so badly but his words helped her. They were here. Her daughter was closer then ever and now really wasn't the time for what her body obviously wanted to do. Taking a moment to compose herself she glanced at John out of the corner of her eye and smiled in feminine satisfaction at what she saw. Sliding her gaze to his lap she saw that she had an effect on him, an obvious effect. Now that she knew that she affected him the same way he affected her she suddenly felt better, more in control. "Ok, lets go," She told him turning her head so he wouldn't see her smile.

He nodded and opened his door. When she did the same they both got out and headed for the hospital. When they got to the doors John took her hand and held it in his. Her hand felt good in his. They went straight to Dr. Platt's office and right before they went in he said to her, "Let me do the talking, ok?"

Natalie looked at him and saw that he was serious. She didn't know why it was so important that she not talk but if it would help her get her daughter back she would do it. "Ok. Let's just get this over with." For some reason she had felt uncomfortable around the doctor the last time she had seen her.

Ten minutes later they came out of the office with another name. This time it was of a couple that had been foster parents to some of the children Walter had taken car of. John thought it was possible that Walter had looked up them again to take care of the baby until he had what ever it was that he had wanted from the mob or whoever wanted Natalie's baby.

Glancing at her watch Natalie noted that it was only 6pm. She turned to John and asked, "Do you want to go there now?" She did. She wanted to fly there and see if her daughter was with these people. But John was the expert in these matters and she trusted him. It was up to him whether it was a good idea to go now.

John also glanced at his watch and thought about it. By the time they got back to AC it would be close to 10pm. But the sooner they either found Natalie's daughter or chased a false lead the better. He sighed; he was really getting tired of driving to AC. "Let's go now. The sooner the better." He told her.

With that they climbed back into his car and headed back to Atlantic City. Four hours later they were entering the city again. John looked again at the address and headed there. Minutes later they pulled into a driveway. The lights in the house were all on and John turned off the car. Looking at Natalie he said, "Wait here. If it's a trap call the police." Checking his gun he then opened the door and walked up to the house. He stopped at the door and knocked, then waited.

After waiting a minute he knocked louder and the door opened slightly. Using the muzzle of his gun he opened the door further and was greeted with the sight of blood. On the walls, on the floor, there was even blood on the ceiling. Another glance around the room confirmed that though there was a lot of blood there were no bodies in sight. He listened carefully and heard a slight noise from upstairs. Calling out, "FBI show yourself," he waited. Nothing... But he heard another slight movement upstairs. Thinking it was the victim, considering all the blood he figured the owners of the house were dead, he headed up the stairs very cautiously.

He followed the noises, his feet making no sound on the plush carpet. Upstairs there was even more blood. It was as if someone had smeared it on the walls deliberately. His mind took in the disgusting display but all his attention was focused on listening. Hearing nothing that sounded dangerous he opened the door to the room where he heard the noises and wasn't surprised to see that it was indeed the owners of the house. The man was obviously dead. It looked like his throat had been slit and his tongue pulled through the hole in his throat. Trying not to gag, it was hare for him to see even being a hardened FBI agent, he turned his attention to the woman.

She was medium height, blond, and was beat up pretty badly. The person who had done this was obviously deranged. He went over to her and checked her pulse. There was none but her body was still warm. She had obviously had just died. Looking around he took in his surroundings. Suddenly there was a commotion outside and he ran to the window seeing what was going on outside he raced down the stairs.

Natalie saw them out of the corner of her eye; they were sneaking around back. Getting out of the car she followed quietly. When she got close enough she saw a man bending over something. Gripping the tire iron that she had taken with her, in her hand she took another step closer. The man turned around as if sensing her and she saw that he had been strapping a baby in the back of the car! It must be Alexandra! She thought to herself. Before she could even form another thought the man rushed her and she lashed out with the tire iron. He screamed and dropped to the ground.

Natalie ignored him and raced to the car. Crabbing the baby, car seat and all, she yanked her out of the car and, screaming for John, ran to the car. She saw John rush from the house with his gun drawn and she ducked around the house, using her body to shield the baby. There were a couple of gunshots and then the car screeched off and she screamed for John again, thinking that he was being shot at. She started to scream again when a figure came around the side of the house.

"Hey, it's me! It's John!" John told her holding up his hands to show her he was harmless. He saw her with the car seat and he felt a profound relief. They had found the baby! Coming over to her slowly he asked, "Is the baby ok?"

**To be continued...**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 24**

Natalie sighed in relief as they pulled into the driveway of a cabin that John thought would be a good place to stay till the heat died down. She sat in the back filled with wonder as she looked at her sleeping daughter. There was no mistaking that she was hers. Alexandra looked like a mini version of Natalie from her red hair to her blue eyes. Natalie was filled with such love for her that her eyes teared up. Reaching over she gently ran her finger down the sleeping babies cheek marveling at the softness of her skin.

She smiled as she remembered how loud Alex could scream when she wanted to. Almost as soon as John had asked if Alex was all right the baby had began to scream her head off. It had taken some serious rocking and some awful singing from John to calm her down. John had taken one look at the little girl and then broke into laughing. He had told her that she was just like her mommy, loud. Natalie had pretended to be offended but she was really too happy to be offended. She had her little girl and she had John. What more could a woman ask for?

John glanced back as he had many times before on the drive to the cabin. This was the cabin he had brought Shelly to before so he knew it was safe. His heart lurched in his chest at the sight of mother and daughter. He already felt protective of the little girl. Maybe it was the weeks he and Natalie had spent looking for her but he felt like it was his duty, his job to keep her safe from harm. His heart felt so strange when he saw the two of them together, it felt like he had finally come home. "We're here." He said softly, trying not to wake the baby.

Natalie looked up at him and smiled sweetly. She nodded and then unbuckled the baby from the seat. She got out of the car and went around to the other side. After opening the door she bent over carefully and gently picked up her daughter.

John got out of the car as well and retrieved the diaper bag he had found at the Alverson's. When he looked at her again he froze. His heart shuddered to a stop and his mind went blank, save for one thing. HE LOVED HER! The knowledge slammed into him, staggering him with its force. He was totally butt crazy in love with her. Heart, mind, body and soul. His heart started beating again, triple time. He felt weak and dizzy as he tried to absorb the idea.

For so long he had believed that he couldn't love another woman like he loved Caitlyn but as he looked at Natalie holding her daughter, that sweet little girl, he knew not only could he love again, but he was IN LOVE again. He must have been staring at her stupidly in his daze because Natalie glanced at him and then gave him a strange look.

Natalie looked at John and saw that he looked shocked, confused, and maybe a little scared. His eyes were fixed on her and unblinking. Gathering Alex she took her free hand and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "John?"

John blinked and then focused on her again. His head still reeling, he led them into the house. He glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was after 1 in the morning. He was exhausted and he knew Natalie had to be as well. Everything that had happened today had drained him, leaving him with barely enough energy to show Natalie where she would sleep. He didn't know if she would want to sleep in the same room with him, even after the amazing love-making they had shared so he put her in the guest bedroom. He was again struck by the powerful emotions that rocked through him as he watched her lay Alex on the bed.

Natalie lay Alex down on the bed, no way was she sleeping apart from her! Then she looked at John. He was turning to leave and Natalie was confused, "You're not staying in here?" she asked him. When he shook his head 'No' her heart stopped. "Why?" she asked, afraid of his answer but not knowing why.

"You've been through a lot. You have Alex... I don't want to crowd you."

Natalie smiled at his concern and reached out a hand to him. When he took it she pulled him closer and took his other hand as well. "I love you John," She said simply. "I always want you with me. I'll sleep better knowing you're close."

John was touched at her words. He wanted desperately to say them back but they wouldn't come. Not yet, his feelings were still to new. Unable to tell her how he felt he brought her close and kissed her tenderly. Trying to show her with his kiss how much he cared. Pulling back after a minute he stripped down in to his boxers and tank and climbed into bed.

Natalie touched her lips, still feeling the kiss. It had been so sweet and full of emotion. She also stripped down to her panties and bra and climbed into the bed, between John and Alex. After they were all settled John covered them up and pulled Natalie into his arms, spooning her against him, her back to his front. She felt so good right now. Her baby was sleeping soundly and John was with her. It felt perfect. Well except for the fact that John hadn't told her yet that he loved her. She wouldn't pressure him, his kiss just moments ago had about screamed that he loved her. Snuggling into him and reaching at hand out to touch her daughter Natalie fell into a content sleep.

John woke up with a feeling of piece that he had never felt before. He glanced at Natalie and saw that she was still asleep. Alex had woken her up several times during the night so he let her rest. Speaking of Alex...he saw that she was awake again and looking very hungry. He went to the fridge and got a bottle out. He put it in the microwave to heat it and then tested it on his wrist, like he had seen Natalie do.

Walking over to her he picked her up gently, smiling when she smiled and cooed at him. He took her to the chair and, holding her like Natalie had, he began to feed her. His heart full of love for the adorable four-month-old. As he finished feeding her Natalie began to stir.

Natalie woke up, her hand immediately going to the spot where Alex had slept. Finding nothing there she sat up and looked around wildly. She saw John sitting in the chair feeding her and her heart melted. They were just so cute together. Getting out of bed she showed John how to burp Alex then went to take a shower.

John watched her go then looked at the baby again. Again he was struck with the feeling that this was where he belonged; that he was home. He already loved Natalie and he also loved Alex too. "You're such a sweet girl," he murmured to the baby as he patted her gently on the back. After a few minutes of baby talk she made a loud burp and he felt something wet on his shoulder. He looked over at it and grimaced.

Natalie came out of the shower and saw the expression on John's face. Laughing she took the baby and said, "That's why you are supposed to put a towel on your shoulder." She giggled again when John shot her a disgruntled look. "You didn't tell me that," he told her.

Sniffing at the baby and deciding that she needed to be changed Natalie looked over at John and smiled widely, "I figured you would learn by experience. Why don't you go shower while I change her." She paused and said wickedly, "Unless you want to change her?"

Looking between Natalie and the baby John shook his head no and bolted for the bathroom. He wasn't up to changing smelly diapers yet. He got into the shower and lathered up, thinking about Natalie and how much she had come to mean to him. He felt so happy that she came into his life. After he finished his shower he dressed and then came back to the bedroom. Natalie wasn't there. He called out, "Natalie" to find out where she went.

"In the living room." Came the reply.

Coming into the living room humming happily John looked out the window... and cursed. There were three men coming their way. He looked at Natalie and the baby and said, "You have to hide!" He pulled her and the baby to the sidewall and pushed a hidden button. There was a momentary pause then the wall swung inward to reveal a hidden room. Ignoring her protests John pulled her close and kissed her hard. Whispering, "I love you," he pushed her inside and hit another hidden button. As the door swung closed slowly he said, "Don't come out until its safe!"

When Dr. Platt had told pointed out the names in the address book he had not thought for a minute that she was in on it but now it looked as if he had made a huge error in judgment trusting her. When he and Natalie had gotten there the Alverson's had been dead and a masked man had been headed for the car with the baby. If it hadn't been for Natalie's quick thinking he would have gotten away with her.

That had been yesterday evening and what had followed had been nothing less then staggering. They had come up here to this cabin, one that the FBI used as a safe house, and had hid out. They had been planning to return to Llanview once the heat died down. After the most amazing night of his life he had woken up with a bad feeling and now he knew why.

Natalie was reeling, after everything they had been through he had finally said he loved her! While her almost every part of her rebelled against waiting and wondering what was going to happen she knew, for the sake of her daughter, that she had to hide and let John handle the men that she had also seen. She didn't have to like it but she would do it. Adjusting her hold on Alexandra she brought a hand to her lips and touched them.

They had kissed before, had done a lot more then kiss actually, but somehow this kiss felt different. It felt like a goodbye she thought and her breath hitched in her throat. John thought he wasn't going to make it she understood with sudden clarity and the thought about brought her to her knees. She couldn't lose John! Not now, not ever!

Alex let out a little gurgle and with just as much conviction she knew that there was nothing she could do to help him. "Oh god! Please let him be ok!" Natalie prayed in a low whisper and waited.

After making sure Natalie was ok John breathed a sigh of relief. He had only seconds to spare and then the door flew open. Taking a fighting stance he waited for them to attack. He knew what they wanted and he also knew he wasn't going to tell them a thing and they would have to go through him to get to Natalie and Alex. He had known for some time that he cared about Natalie, desired her, lusted after her, but until he had seen her with Alex hadn't realized those feelings were love. Voicing his feelings aloud had been unplanned but he didn't regret it for a minute. And though they had just found Alex he loved her as if she was his own daughter. But that was all moot if he didn't get out of this alive. He watched the men carefully, looking for any sign of weakness or distraction.

As the men advanced on him menacingly one asked, "Where is she? We know she was here!"

John gave his trademark smirk and said, "Who? There isn't anyone here but me." He began to slowly turn in a circle when the three men surrounded him. He had to be cautious; these were experienced killers and he was in no hurry to die. They circled him like wolves on a deer. Then they sprang, all at once. He deflected the first attack but as he was turning to deal with the second the third guy clubbed him in the back of the head and he fell to the floor unconscious.

**To be continued...**


	25. Chapter 25 Smut

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 25**

Shelly sat up in bed and gasped. She looked around and wondered what had woken her. She looked over to Rex who lay on the other bed and sighed. He was fine. She had been dreaming again but unlike most of her dreams she couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about. Her heart still pounding like a run away train she knew that what ever she had been dreaming it was what had woken her up.

She lay back down but still couldn't shake the feeling of dread that surrounded her. Sitting back up she swung her legs off the bed and walked the few feet Rex's bed. She knew it was a bad idea given their attraction to each other but she needed the comfort of his arms. She needed to feel them around her to make her feel safe again. Climbing into the bed she snuggled next to him and sighed contentedly when Rex wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Rex felt her get into the bed with him and half-smiled half-grimaced. He was happy that she came to him for comfort but on the other hand he wanted her so much that he wasn't sure he could keep his hands to himself. When she lay next to him he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, loving the feel of her next to him. On a sigh he murmured, "This is probably a bad idea."

"I know," Shelly told him softly making no move to leave the circle of his arms. Instead she snuggled closer and intertwined their fingers. Closing her eyes she felt a sense of peace wash over her and she knew that she could get back to sleep. As they lay there spooned together Shelly's breathing evened out and she fell into a deep sleep.

Sometime during the night they ended up facing each other and when Shelly opened her eyes sleepily she saw Rex's face. She was overwhelmed with her love for him and leaned in and kissed his lips softly. When he kissed her back she pulled back sharply and saw that he was still asleep. Knowing it was wrong she kissed him again. Again in his sleep Rex kissed her back, this time wrapping his arms around her and deepening the kiss.

In his dreams Rex was kissing Shelly and she was kissing him back. But this dream felt more real then any other he had ever experienced. Wrapping his arms around dream Shelly he was surprised at how solid she felt and he moaned out, "Shelly..."

Shelly heard her name and smiled, even in his dreams he was kissing her. Feeling happier then she had ever felt before she was filled with the desire to make love with Rex. The fact that he was 19 to her 17 didn't matter anymore. In this moment in time all that mattered was showing him how much she loved him. Running her hands over his bare chest she leaned in again and began kissing his neck whispering, "Rex," in his ear to wake him up.

Hearing his name Rex reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at Shelly wondering what was wrong. Blinking to clear his vision and shaking his head to get rid of the images from his dream he was stunned at what he saw. It was the Shelly from his dream, only she was real and he was awake! She was looking at him with her beautiful eyes full of love and desire and most of all trust.

When she leaned in and kissed him passionately he kissed her back with a groan. His hands began to roam her back over the silk of her nightgown. After a moment he pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders, "Wait," he said huskily, his breath coming heavily.

"I want you Rex," Shelly said, moving his hands aside. She began to plant kisses on his face and the side of his neck. "Please," she moaned in his ear.

Desire flooded through him and his control snapped. Sitting up and pulling her close Rex kissed her hard and deep while his hands reached for her nightgown. Pulling it over her head he tossed it to the floor and feasted his eyes on her almost naked flesh. Her body glistened in the moonlight that spilled in from the window. "Oh god Shelly! You're so beautiful." He said on a shuddering sigh.

Shelly blushed at the admiration in his voice and fought the urge to cover herself. She hadn't been naked in front of a man since she was a baby and the urge to cross her arms over her breasts was almost overwhelming. She forced herself to sit still while Rex looked his fill. When he reached for her again she went into his arms willingly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gasped against his mouth when she felt his hands move between their bodies and cup her heaving breasts. Pleasure coursed through her when he pinched her nipples and rolled them between his thumb and forefinger.

Breaking the kiss she threw her head back and moaned loudly. She was feeling things she had never felt before. Her body burned for his touch. Everywhere he put his hands tingled and the rest of her body ached for his touch. She lay back and pulled him down on top of her. Her knees on either side of his hips she instinctively pushed her hips up into his. Feeling his hardness pressed against her she stilled and pulled back looking into his eyes.

Rex felt her still and raised his head to look at her. He caught his breath at the emotions churning in her eyes. Love, desire, and uncertainty flashed through her eyes and he took a deep breath. He pulled back a bit more and lifted his body slightly away from hers breaking the contact. The space gave him some control over the raging need that consumed him; he didn't want her to do anything that she didn't want to, no matter how much he wanted her it was her choice.

"Shelly?" He whispered, "We can still stop. We don't have to do this." He meant it too. He loved her and wanted her more then he had ever wanted anyone in his entire life but he would back away and simply hold her if that's what she wanted.

"No" Shelly said softly as they continued to gaze at each other " I want this Rex... I want you"

"Then what?" Then it dawned on Rex. She was nervous and probably a little scared too. She had never said before but he was pretty sure this would be her first time. Rex shook his head. He didn't want to push her, make her uncomfortable, if this was what she wanted. If she wanted to make love with him, he would make sure they'd go slow, took their time, and make it a lasting memory for both of them.

"I've never done this before." She told him, confirming his suspicions. Hearing her say it filled him with indescribable pleasure. He'd never thought it mattered but the thought of being her first filled him with joy and a sense of primal possession. He brought a hand up and smoothed her hair back. Kissing her gently before pulling back and saying, "It's ok. It will only hurt for a second. I'll be as gentle as I can."

Her fears put to rest she arched her head up and kissed him again. Moving her hands over his back she touched him lightly, loving the feel of his skin. When she reached the waistband of his underwear she paused then boldly pushed them down. She moaned in disapproval when he drew back to kick them off.

After kicking off his underwear Rex reached for Shelly's panties and pulled them off, the arch of her back aiding the process. Once he had them off he climbed back up her legs trailing his mouth from her toes to her thigh. Grasping her thighs with his hands he pulled them apart gently and began to lower his head to her moist center, wanting to taste her.

Seeing what Rex was about to do she tried to close her legs in embarrassment. "No!" she gasped out but Rex didn't listen. When his mouth closed over her she forgot about her objections and gave herself up to the pleasure of his touch. "OHHHHHH!" She moaned tossing her head back and arching her back as a wave of pleasure hit her. Her hips began to move under his mouth as he licked and sucked at her. Soon she felt a tightening in her body, as if it was building up to something. "Rex!" She said loudly as her hips continued to move against his mouth. Suddenly her body exploded and she hurled into ecstasy.

Rex smiled against her as he felt her body tense and she found her release. He quickly rose up and entered her body. He felt the thin membrane of her virginity break and then he was seated fully into her. He moaned as her waning climax rippled around him, begging him to begin his thrusts. He forced his body still as he waited for hers to get used to his then began to thrust slowly into her.

Shelly felt him enter her body and stiffened at the unfamiliar fullness. It was uncomfortable at first but then as she felt him begin to move the feeling went away and was replaced by the most amazing sensations. Her body reveled in the pleasure and her hips instinctively began to move with his. The now familiar pressure began to build again and her body burned for more. As they kissed deeply, their tongues dueling, her hands touched and caressed every inch of skin she could reach, ending at his butt. When she lightly scrapped her nails over his cheeks and then took a hold of them and squeezed gently, experimentally, he moaned and began to quicken the pace.

Rex felt her touch and it drove him wild. Her hands on him, all over him pushed him past his limits. The feel of being inside her tight body filled him with joy and turned his blood to liquid fire. Thrusting faster he took her hands and held them above her head, pushing them into the mattress. She was about to go over the edge, he could feel it in the tightening of her body and the way she moaned his name. He was close too and he angled his thrusts in a slightly different way, so that he rubbed against her most sensitive spot. He felt her body release, her inner muscles clenching around him and his control shattered. Yelling out, "Shelly!" he went over the edge with her, emptying himself in the most powerful climax of his life.

After a few minutes Shelly began to giggle. The tension that she had been feeling when ever she was around him was gone and all she felt now was relief. Her body was sated, and though she was slightly sore with him still inside her she had never felt better in her life. "That was incredible. Is it always like that?"

Rex propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her, "Its never been that good for me. You are amazing."

Suddenly Shelly wondered how many people he had done this with and began to get jealous, "I supposed you have done a lot of experience with this." She said somewhat peevishly.

Rex heard her tone and frowned. Looking at her he tried to figure out what had cause her to go from a lazy smile to a scowl and then realized that she was feeling jealous. "Not really." He told her truthfully. "I have only been with one other woman."

"Lets not talk about it," she said over her sudden jealously as he pulled out of her and rolled to his side. When he pulled her close she went willingly and sighed. She really was tired and went to sleep almost immediately. Rex was stunned by her mood change then shrugged with a grin. "Women" he thought to him self and also closed his eyes and went to sleep.

**To be continued...**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 26**

When John opened his eyes he groaned, pain stabbing the back of his eyes as bright light shown in them. He took a second to look around but he could see nothing with the light shining in his eyes. He was standing with his arms above his head. He looked up and saw that they were tied to a hook hanging from the ceiling. He remembered that he had been hit in the head back at the cabin and said, "Natalie?"

A voice from beyond the light said, "She's not here."

John's head whipped towards the voice. It was vaguely familiar; he had heard it before, he just couldn't remember where. There was movement to his left and again he looked. Again he couldn't see because of the blinding light. "Who are you? I know you from somewhere."

The voice chuckled and said, "That you do, John! You took from me what was mine and you stole my chance at revenge. Every time I am close there you are! You're gonna have to pay for that." There was another menacing laugh and then all John felt was pain.

John gritted his teeth against the pain and let out an involuntary grunt. Immediately the pain stopped and there was another laugh, "That's just a taste of what's to come." Again he was struck with something and again his body was consumed with pain.

John was determined to not show his pain but he couldn't hold in the gasp of pain as his side exploded in agony. As before the second he made a sound the pain stopped, but his side burned and tingled. He gasped for breath and waited for the voice.

"But..." Said the voice, "I will let you go if you tell me where she is."

"Even if I knew where Natalie was I would die before telling you!" John spat, bracing himself for more pain. But it didn't come instead there was more movement and another laugh.

"Who ever said I was talking about Natalie? Not that I wouldn't LOVE to find her too but she isn't my main concern."

John was confused for a second then it hit him. "Shelly," he gasped out, horrified and somewhat confused.

"Yes, I want Shelly. Tell me where she is."

"No!" John ground out. A small man with a cruel face stepped into the light so that John could see him. He held up a pair of jumper cables and clicked them together. Sparks flew off them and John then knew what they had been using on him. But knowing what it was did nothing to dull the pain or the burning that would come.

"This is Max. He is gonna ask you some questions. I would answer them if I were you." Came the voice again. He laughed again and then John heard a door slam shut.

"Where is Shelly?" Max asked softly, he turned on a faucet and water cascaded down on John. "This will make things a bit more interesting.

John glared at him then pulled back his head and spit on him. Enraged Max put the cables on John's stomach. Pain exploded through him even worse then before, the water somehow making the pain 10 times stronger. John clenched his hands onto the rope that held them together, threw back his head, and let out a hoarse cry of agony. Then, just as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped.

"Where is Michelle Falk?" Max asked again.

Still breathing heavily John lifted his head and sent another mute glare at Max. Determination radiated from him, "Torture me all you wanted I ain't telling you jack shit." He snarled at him.

Max laughed, but it was an angry laugh. He said, "Tell me that again in about an hour." Putting the jumper cables again against John's flesh he laughed with genuine pleasure as John let out another harsh cry of pain.

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It had been hours and still Natalie hid. She thanked god that they had packed the diaper bag with everything they would need for several days because they had gone through lots of diapers and bottled formula. Alex had finally drifted off to sleep and she now felt safe enough to put her down on the small cot and explore her surroundings. She had already searched for the release to open the door but with a four month old it was difficult to do a thorough job. She methodically began to search each wall for the door opener.

After 30 minutes she gave up and sat on the cot next to Alex. She was so frustrated. She knew something was wrong with John, she could feel it. He wasn't dead but he was in trouble and needed help. Being trapped in this tiny room while John was in trouble ticked her off and made her crazy.

She couldn't find a phone, she couldn't find the exit, and she couldn't do anything to help John. It was that last thought more than anything else, that bothered her. She hated feeling useless, helpless. She loved John and he needed her but there wasn't a damn thing she could do to help him! "Damn it John! Why did you have to lock me in here!" she said out loud.

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John looked around trying to figure out where he was. He was in a dark alley that looked to be in Llanview PA. He smelled the smell of river water and looked around more closely. He was actually in an alley near the docks in Llanview PA.

He got to his feet and began to walk around. Dizziness swept through him and his body felt heavy. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He steadied himself and walked around a corner that led to the waterfront he stopped short and reached for his gun. It wasn't there... He saw two men standing in a near the water. It looked like they were arguing about something. Suddenly he saw one pull a knife. He ran to intercede but the men didn't react at all. Yelling, "Stop Police!" he made it to the men just as the man with the knife stabbed the other repeatedly, blood spattering the killer and the ground but not John. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect at all and that scared him.

In fact the ground where John was standing was hit by some of the blood but not John. Reaching out to attack the killer John reached for his arm and was shocked when his hands went right through and he stumbled. He was stunned and confused. Suddenly his vision blurred and then went dark. He felt like he was falling and when he landed he was looking at something entirely different.

He was in a hospital room but the strange thing was it felt like he wasn't alone. It was like there was someone else there. Someone he could feel but not see. John had never felt like this before. It was almost as if he was an observer and this was a dream. He looked around again and began to realize that he really was dreaming. Suddenly there was a flash of...something and there was a gurney in the middle of the room. There was a body on it with a sheet draped over it and he walked closer. As he reached the gurney and went to pull back the sheet he heard a single word, "Don't" and he froze. He knew that voice; it was as familiar to him as his own. And he turned around to see.

As he watched Thomas McBain shimmered into view, starting as nothing more then a ghostly image then became more and more solid. When he was fully in view he asked, "Why?"

Thomas smiled sadly and said, "Because you might not like what you see." Then as suddenly as he had come Thomas disappeared and John was again left alone. He turned back to the gurney and reached for the sheet then hesitated. 'Did he really want to know?' he asked himself and the answer came to him immediately. "Yes, he did.' Grasping the sheet he pulled it down and then gasped. "Shelly!" he said, "No! Not you!"

"Yes, me." Shelly said to him. She had been watching since he had entered her vision. She had seen him at the docks and then again with Thomas McBain. She had tried to speak but had been unable to. All she had been able to do was watch. Then suddenly she was able to move and speak.

Glancing at the body, her body, on the gurney she grinned wanly. "Guess you know how it ends."

"How... How am I here?" John asked stunned and more then a little freaked out. He was down right terrified and he wasn't afraid to admit it. "Where am I?"

"You're in my mind, my vision. You saw what I saw on the docks. As for how you got here I have no idea." Shelly told him. She was silent waiting for him to take it all in when she suddenly realized that she could feel him. She could feel what he was feeling as if it were her own emotions. She could feel his confusion and his terror, for her. He was terrified that she was going to end up on that gurney because of him. "John?" she questioned softly.

John looked up at her and he could have sworn he felt her. In his head. There it was again, a feeling of familiarity, of acceptance. It was Shelly! He realized. He was feeling her emotions; her very essence and what he felt scared him even more. He felt the hopelessness pouring off her in waves. He realized that she believed that there was no way to avoid the out come of this vision, that she was in fact just waiting to die. With a sudden burst of emotion he grabbed her and shook her hard, "Don't you dare give up, damn it!"

Shelly was shocked and then terrified. She then understood that if she could feel his emotions he could surely feel hers. In her heart she knew she was going to end up on that gurney and there was nothing she could do to stop it. He must have felt that. "I'm not giving up, John." She told him, "I'm just ready for when it happens."

"That's bullshit!" John said. "You are giving up! You can't, I won't let you." John knew even if it cost him his last breath he wouldn't let anything happen to Shelly if he could help it. And in that moment Shelly knew it too and John felt that. He released her and sighed. He looked around again and noticed that they were now in the cabin where he had left Natalie and he understood why he was in this dream/vision.

"Where are we, John?" Shelly said as she also looked around. She had never seen this cabin before.

"This is where I left Natalie and her baby," John told her.

"You found the baby? That's great!" Shelly said happily then paused, "but wait, why aren't you with her?"

John briefly told her what had happened and where the cabin was located. He wanted her to find Natalie and bring her back to Llanview. He told her that Natalie was locked in the secret room and that she didn't know how to get out. Suddenly he felt light, like he was floating. He looked at Shelly and then at himself and realized he was waking up. Telling Shelly again to find Natalie and bring her home he disappeared completely.

**To be continued...**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 27**

John opened his eyes again and saw that he was back at the warehouse. He shook his head to clear it and thought about the dream he had just had. Or rather the vision he had just shared with Shelly! He was a little frightened by what had just happened and didn't really know what to make of it. One thing he was sure of was that Natalie and the baby would be safe now. He only hoped Shelly called Bo rather then going her self. He was still deep in reflection when he heard a faint noise.

He jerked his head up and winced. His whole body hurt but he wasn't telling them a thing! Suddenly it occurred to him that he had neglected to tell Shelly that it wasn't Natalie the person wanted! He hoped she had enough sense to stay hidden until everything played out. He didn't know what he would do if he lost either Natalie or Shelly. Listening intently he strained to hear anything else out of the ordinary. A minute later he heard what sounded like a footstep and tensed. He looked towards the noise but could see nothing so he waited.

"Well look who's awake..." Came the voice from the shadows.

John was tired of playing their games so he decided to play his way. Still strung up like a side of beef he knew there wasn't anything he could do physically 'but' he thought, 'there was more then one way to skin a cat.' Raising his voice and directing in the direction of the voice he called out, "What's the matter, scared I might see your face?"

There was a snort and then, "No, Just thought some mystery would add to your experience."

"I bet you're scared that I am going to get out of here and identify you. Just like a scared little boy afraid to get caught by your mommy." John taunted, hoping to elicit a reaction.

There was a laugh, "You really must not know who I am if you think I am afraid of my mother! If you knew anything you would know it was Shelly that was always afraid of her mommy!"

John paused, thinking. So this person knew of Shelly's previous family, her adopted family. He had figured that would be the case. But the tone that the mystery person used suggested he knew from first hand experience. So Rex had been right. It was someone close to her. But who...? "Ohh, so you were a mommas boy?" he scoffed.

There was a pause and then came the angry reply, "No, but I wasn't a daddy's girl like Shelly either!" then came a hiss of annoyance, as if he revealed more then he should have.

"So your daddy didn't pay attention to you and you're jealous because Shelly's gave her attention? That's really pathetic!"

"Pathetic?" came the snarled reply then some movement as the person stepped into the light where John could see them, "What would you know? Your father was murdered before he had a chance to ignore you! You didn't have someone one who didn't belong taking his attention, his love."

John stared in shock at the figure now totally visible to him. "You! You did all this? Why?"

Jerry Falk smiled a twisted smile and said, "To take back what's mine. You, well you're just collateral damage."

"But Shelly is your sister!" John was simply flabbergasted at this revelation. Shelly would never believe that Jerry was the one trying to kill her, that Jerry hated her this much.

"She isn't my sister! She is your sister. I've known for some time that we weren't related. That my father care more about some trash that they bought more then his own flesh and blood son!" Jerry snarled, his voice filled with hate and rage.

Miraculously John began to laugh, a deep, gut wrenching laugh.

"What the hell is so funny?" Jerry demanded.

"You! You do all this. Kill a man, keep a woman from her child, send sick notes because your daddy didn't pay as much attention to you! That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard!" John said when he could get the words out. He stopped laughing completely and was filled with dread at Jerry's next words.

" Laugh all you want. You think I did all that? Wrong! I could care less about Natalie, other then the money I will get when I sell that little brat I don't care if she dies." He smiled evilly, " and she will die. Once I find her." He turned to leave the room then turned back, "Oh here is something to think on. That little girl is my daughter too. I paid that little tramp of yours for an amazing night. So that child is just as much mine as she is Natalie's"

With that he left the room again leaving John staring after him in shock and disgust.

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Shelly opened her eyes and stared straight into Rex's. He was awake and watching her with a tender expression on his face. She sat up and immediately reached for the phone. Rex stopped her hand with his own and she looked at him questioningly.

"What's the matter?" Rex asked, concerned about her. The fearful expression on her face gave him pause and he hoped that it wasn't because of what had happened between them last night. It had been the most amazing night of his life and it would kill him if she regretted it.

"I had a vision. John was in it. He told me that he and Natalie are in trouble. They found Alex, Rex! Natalie has her but she is stuck in that cabin where John hid me before. And John is in serious trouble! I need to call Bo and tell him!" Shelly said, knowing she probably wasn't making much sense. Her need to call Bo stronger then the need to explain, causing her to rush her words. She grabbed her cell and began to dial the Llanview police department number, Bo's direct line.

"Bo Buchanan." Bo answered.

"Bo this is Shelly! Natalie is in trouble!" Shelly stated urgently! She waited for his reply then told him that John had 'contacted' her and told her that Natalie was in a cabin with Baby Alex and needed help. She told him that John also was taken hostage somewhere, she didn't know where, and needed help.

"Are you sure about this, Shelly?" Bo asked frightened at what she had just told him. He was personally going to go help Natalie but not knowing where John was...that was another matter. At her affirmative answer he thanked her and hung up. Calling in his best officers he picked several to go to the cabin with him and assigned the rest to begin the search for John McBain. After that was done he and his had picked back up got in police cruisers and headed to the cabin that Shelly had told him about.

Rex had listened to Shelly's words with both terror and happiness. He was happy that Natalie had found her daughter and seemed to be safe for the moment but he was terrified that she wouldn't stay that way! He didn't know what he should do, go with Bo, or stay with Shelly. He knew Bo would take care of Natalie but he wanted to be there for his sister! Pacing back and forth he asked, "What now?"

Shelly looked at him and saw the conflicting emotions on his face. He was torn about what he should do and she understood. "I have to find John. If only I had seen where he was!" She thought hard about her vision and how they had shared it. It confused her; never had she had a shared vision. It must have something to do with Thomas McBain. He had appeared to her and John and she didn't know why. She remembered what had happened at the docks in her vision and wondered if that meant something. Maybe if John were there in her vision he would be there in real life. It was the only clue she had at the moment and even though it was a long shot she knew immediately she had to check it out.

"I have an idea where John might be!" She said to Rex and saw his expression. He was against her going anywhere alone. "I mean the odds are against it and I'm probably wrong but in my vision I had John was in it and we were at the Llanview docks. If John was there in my vision he might actually be there. Maybe that was what it was supposed to tell me!"

"You aren't going anywhere alone!" Rex told her. He could see she was determined to check this out and sighed. He knew his decision was made; he was going with Shelly to the docks. "If you go anywhere I am going with you." He caught his breath when she jumped out of bed and began to pace the room. She was naked and apparently she had forgotten that fact. Not that he minded the view.

Rex stared while she paced and Shelly wondered why he was looking at her that way. She looked down and blushed fire engine red. In her agitation she had forgotten she had not a stitch of clothing on. Her face burning she hurried to get dressed. She had her panties and jeans on when she felt Rex pull her against him from behind. He held her tightly to him and kissed her bare shoulder and she shivered at the sensation but didn't pull away. When his hand came up and cupped her breast she moaned softly before pushing his hand away gently.

He couldn't help himself as he laughed into her hair. Letting her go he turned her around and pulled her into a brief but deeply passionate kiss. When he pulled back he, with out another word, began to dress as well. When they were both finished dressing he said, "Lets go." With that they snuck out of the motel and back to Llanview, hopefully help John.

**To be continued...**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 28**

Natalie waited and waited and waited. Hours had passed and still no one had shown up. She was running out of baby supplies and was getting extremely worried. Fear for John consumed her till she thought she would go crazy. Alex, not used to her, had cried most of the night, further stressing her out. But the cries were music to her ears, well the first few anyway.

The love she had for her daughter seemed to swell and grow with each passing hour. As did her anxiety over both John and how she was going to get out of this tiny room. She was still worrying when she heard several people enter the cabin. She prayed that Alex stayed silent and they if they were the bad guys they would go away quickly. After a minute she heard, "Natalie? Where are you?"

"Uncle Bo?" She called through the door. It was Bo! He had found her. That must mean John was ok and had sent him! Relief filled her and she sagged as the tension left her body. Hugging Alex close she placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and thanked God that Bo had found her. A second later the door swung open and she was greeted with the sight of Bo's concerned face.

"Natalie!" Bo said with relief. He looked her over and saw that she looked fine. She was holding a small baby and he stepped up to see her. The baby was adorable. Her bright red hair declaring for all to see that this was Natalie's daughter, as well as the features on the little girls face. She was the spitting image of her mother. "Thank God you're alright!"

"John? Where is John?" Natalie asked straight away. She didn't see him here. "Is he hurt? Tell me where he is Uncle Bo!" Her fear escalated at the look of regret on Bo's face. "Tell me he isn't dead!" she cried out, fearing the worst.

"No, he isn't dead." Bo told her, hoping he wasn't lying. "John has been taken."

"Taken? Where? By who?" Natalie demanded. This had been her biggest fear. Suddenly something occurred to her, "If John is missing then how did you find me?"

"John contacted Shelly somehow and she told me." Bo told her. Seeing her terror for John he was convinced that she was in love with him.

"Shelly sent you?" Natalie asked then realized that Shelly must have had a vision. "Where is Shelly? Is she ok?" Natalie was concerned about her friend she knew that Shelly tended to be impulsive and if she thought she knew where John was she just might... "Bo, did Shelly have any clue where John might be?"

"She said she didn't. She said John didn't even know where he was except that he was in some sort of warehouse." Bo explained as he ushered Natalie and the baby into his car. He was taking her back to Llanfair so she could spend some time with Jess until they found John. The last think he needed was to worry about her too while he had every available person searching for John.

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Mitch smiled to himself. It was time. Everything was coming together perfectly. The Buchanans were distracted and there was no one to guard Jess. Hell they had no clue that he was even there, that Jess was about be discover she couldn't run from fate. He carefully walked thru the woods that were near Llanfair as he studied the house. He knew how to get in undetected, he just had to wait for the right moment.

He heard a commotion in the front of the house and knew that was his moment. He made his move and calmly walked right up to the back door and let himself into the house. Quietly entering he slipped up the stairs and into Jessica's bedroom. Taking out his gun silently in case she resisted he prepared to reclaim his daughter.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Natalie hugged her mother and showed off her baby to Jess and everyone else. Bo had left to go back to the station and ever since Natalie had been filled with a worried feeling. She was worried about John. Terrified for him actually. Somehow she knew he was in real danger. So as soon as she could she followed Jess to her bedroom, intending to ask her to look after Alex while she went to the station to see if she could help find John. She had her baby, now she needed her man!

"Jess?" she called out, knocking on the door. She heard a muffled noise and assumed that it was Jess calling for her to come in. Opening the door she was shocked to see a man holding her sister with something over her face. "Jess!" Natalie screamed out as the man raised a gun at her. She spun around trying to protect Alex when the gun went off. She felt a sudden, excruciating pain in her head and then crumpled to the floor, still protecting her baby.

Jess used that distraction to wriggle away from Mitch and grab the gun he had just used to shoot her sister. "You bastard!" she screamed in his face as the struggled for the gun.

"Natalie! Jessica!" Vicki screamed as she, Kevin, and Kelly raced into the room. They had heard all the commotion and had run to see what was going on. Kelly saw Natalie and the baby on the floor and immediately went to them. Seeing that Natalie was hurt she hurriedly got out her cell phone and called 911 then gathered the baby in her arms to comfort the crying infant. The baby appeared to be unhurt.

Jessica was still struggling with Mitch Lawrence and suddenly there was a loud BANG! Mitch slumped to the floor dead. He had been killed instantly by the bulled Asa fired from his gun. It was a large caliber gun, a 30/30, and that meant that Mitch was missing half his face. Everyone stared in shock at the blood mess on the floor before racing to Natalie's side.

Natalie was lying on the floor in a heap. Her only thought had been to save her daughter when Mitch had fired at her. She had turned away from him and dodged away. This had caused the bullet to only graze the side of her head. Blood still poured from the wound as head wounds always bled profusely but she hadn't been seriously injured. She moaned in pain as she began to come too. She reached a hand to her head and touched the blood area before passing out again.

"Well, don't anyone thank me for saving the day." Asa told everyone as he put away his gun. He hadn't seen Natalie lying on the floor yet but when he did he paled and began throwing around orders. "Someone call an ambulance. Jessica, get a towel and put it on her head. Kevin don't just stand around, help her." He rushed over and felt for her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the strong pulsing of her blood pumping through her veins. His grandchild, his Natalie, was alive.

As Jessica brought the towel and put pressure on the wound Kevin knelt next to Natalie holding her hand, begging her to wake up and yell at them. The ambulance came and soon Natalie was on her way to the Llanview hospital. Jessica went in the ambulance with her with baby Alexandra.

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Jerry paced the floor of the warehouse. John had made him angry, made him reveal more then he had wanted to. He was furious with himself for falling for his baiting. Well... John would pay for that. He was going to kill his precious Shelly right in front of him. Hell maybe he would rape her! That would cause the other man considerable pain! Precious Shelly...so perfect that everyone loved her. Even his own father, his blood kin, loved her more then him. Oh how he hated her for that!

He hated her more then ever. It seemed that no matter what everyone loved her more than him. People that didn't even know she existed 2 months ago were now willing to die for her! Why was it that no one loved him like that? It was enough to make him want to puke! His own father, his own brother loved her more then him. The McBain's had almost immediately taken her in under their wings and treated her better then the Falks had ever treated him. Hell even the Buchanan's seemed to love her. Was there no one that she didn't fool into loving her?

He thought again of John McBain and how even after being tortured for hours he still hadn't given up Shelly's location. Maybe leaving him hanging there like a side of beef and watching his family be killed one by one would loosen his tongue, if not... Well, if the man wouldn't talk then he was of no use to him. Bodies in this area could be disposed of easily!

**To be continued...**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 29**

Unaware of what had just happened at Llanfair Rex pulled the car into a secluded area of the docks. He had stopped at a buddies and picked up some weapons, just in case. He and Shelly had talked about it and it didn't seem likely that Who ever that had kidnapped John would bring him back to Llanview but Shelly refused to do nothing while her brother was missing. Rex could understand that since he had gone to such great lengths to find his own sister. The plan was to check it out and if they saw anything call Bo and get them down here.

They snuck over to a large building and peered into the windows. Inside it was empty and looked like it had been abandoned for years. The windows were so dirty that they had to scrub them just to look in. Continuing down the dock Shelly was disappointed to find building after building empty. She hadn't realized it but she had really been hoping to find John here. "This is pointless," she told Rex after they had checked the 10th building. "He isn't here."

Rex thought so too but shrugged and said, "Let's just check one more." There was a warehouse that was very close and it just seemed like a good idea to check it. What could it hurt?

Shelly nodded and they headed to the building. The windows were high so Rex gave her a boost so she could look into the building. Rubbing a spot on the glass so that she could look in Shelly strained to see into thw warehouse. I looked like an old meat packing plant or something. There were meat hooks hanging all over. The dirty windows blocked out most of the sunlight so it was very difficult to make out anything but soon a shape became visible as her eye got used to the darkened interior of the building. It looked like John! Hang from a meat hook by his wrists! "Rex!" She whispered loudly. "Call Bo! I think we found John!"

Rex was very surprised. He really hadn't expected to find John here. He tool out his cell phone and dialed Bo. When Bo answered he said, "Bo this is Rex. Shelly and I are at the Docks. I think we found John!"

"You are at the docks!" Bo demanded. "What the hell are you doing there? You are supposed to be laying low!"

"Well arrest me later. Just get down here. It's building..." he trailed off as he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel on his neck. "Got to go. Call you later." Rex said into the phone softly and hung up quickly.

"Give me the phone," Said a gruff voice behind him and Rex did as he was told. He saw Shelly turn at the voice and her eyes widened in horror. "I think the Boss would love to see you." Said the voice and Rex slowly turned around with his hands up.

"Hey no problem here. Me and my girlfriend were just looking for a place to well... you know..." he lied, winking at the guy and leering at Shelly. He hoped this guy was as stupid as he looked.

"I don't care. Anyone we find we bring to the boss." Said the less then genius gunman. Waving the gun he motioned for them to walk. Seeing the gun pointed away from him for a split second Rex made his move. He knocked the gun aside and punched him as hard as he could.

"Ow!" Rex moaned as the man collapsed, knocked out cold. "Lets tie him up."

"With what?" Shelly asked before looking around. Spotting some rope off to the side she said, "How about this?" She got the rope and then helped Rex tie up the gunman. "We can't just wait out here and get caught again. We should go in!" She told Rex and then with out waiting for his answer she got her gun ready and headed for the back of the building, leaving Rex to catch up.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. "We need to wait for Bo!"

"You can wait if you want but I am going to get my brother out of there. They could kill him while we are out here waiting!" she said as she continued toward the back of the building.

"Wait!" Rex said grabbing her arm and spinning her around. "We can't go in there! What if there are more guards?"

"What if it were Natalie in there? Would you wait for Bo?" Shelly asked him. She knew that he wouldn't. He would go in there to help Natalie just as she would help John.

Rex sighed, she was right and she knew it. "Fine." Before she could turn around again he hauled her to him and kissed her hard on the mouth. Lightning bolted through them and after a moment Rex pulled away, panting. "For luck" he said.

Shelly smiled and touched his face briefly, "You really are amazing," she said, " I love you so much." Planting a light peck on his lips she then turned and lead the way. She had seen a small door in the back when they drove by the building earlier. It was her hope that they could sneak in and get John out before anyone noticed them.

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Bo stared at the dead phone in his hand and then hung it up. Calling every available unit he directed them too the docks praying the Rex didn't do anything stupid. After all the tips Rex had given him he believed him when he said he had found John. He got in his car and headed for the docks along with most of the other officers on duty.

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Shelly picked the lock on the back door and it swung open with a slight creek. She turned and grinned at Rex, "I'm good, huh?"

Rex was impressed with her knowledge but merely gave a half-hearted grin. He didn't like doing this with out back up but she was determined to go in, with or without him. There was no way he was letting her go in there alone. He checked his gun again just to make sure then they went in the door cautiously.

Shelly looked around the room and saw little. Her eyes adjusted to the dark of the room and she spotted John, hanging by his arms from a meat hook. Staying in the shadows she and Rex crept along the wall, getting closer to John. There were several smaller rooms that had doors leading to the big room they were now in and as she passed them she looked into each. She was nervous...scared. Nothing she had ever done compared to this and she was actually shaking, both from the nerves and the fear.

Rex followed her lead, keeping alert for any noises or movement. As they neared John he noticed that John had tensed, as if sensing someone was in the room.

John heard a noise and tensed. It had come from behind him. Odd...considering every time Jerry had come into the room he had entered from the front door. Thinking this was just another tactic to get him to frighten him, he waited; ready to spit in the other mans face before he told him where Shelly was. Then he caught a whiff of lavender. Shelly! He immediately thought, panicked. She always wore lavender perfume! His fears were confirmed when she stepped out of the shadows and toward him.

"No! Get out of here! Now!" he demanded and then cursed when he saw that Rex was with her. "I thought you were supposed to be taking care of her! Get her out of here!"

"Not with out you!" Shelly said softly, taking out her knife. Stepping up next to him she reached up and cut the rope that was binding his wrists.

John felt his bonds being cut and then he was free. Standing on his legs after being hung by his arms for the first time in 18 hours proved impossible and he collapsed with a groan.

"John!" Shelly exclaimed bending down to help him up. "Pass out later, right now we got to get out of here!" She told him.

Rex rushed the few feet between he and John and also bent to help him up. "Come on John. Shelly will kill me if we don't get you out of here."

John groaned as the blood began to flow back into his arms and wrists but managed to struggle to his feet with both Rex and Shelly's help. As they supported him they made their way slowly across the room towards the door. Suddenly John froze, causing Shelly to stumble and Rex to curse.

"What the hell?" Rex demanded. A second later he understood. While he and Shelly were concentrating on getting John up and moving it seemed that at least 10 guys made their way around the inner walls of the warehouse. They were armed and blocking the exits! "Damn it!"

**CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP** "Well, well, well" Said a voice that Shelly knew very well, "You almost got me. A round of applause for the little whore." Jerry called out.

**To be continued...**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 30**

Letting go of John Shelly spun around and was greeted with the sight of her brother Jerry aiming a gun at them. "Jerry?" She asked in a small voice, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Ohh the great Michelle needs me to answer her question!" Jerry said snidely. "Guess you don't know everything after all." He stalked up to her and then stopped about four feet away. He motioned for his men to grab Rex.

"Hey, Get your hands off me!" Rex demanded as one of Jerry's henchmen grabbed him. John, weak from hours of torture and hanging by his arms teetered. Rex made a show of trying to help him and slipped John a gun as he fell to the ground. The henchman didn't notice the gun exchange and dragged Rex over to Shelly, leaving John in a heap on the floor.

"Check them both for weapons!" Jerry demanded and his henchmen checked Rex and Shelly for weapons. They ignored John thinking he was unconscious and too weak to be a threat. Once they got Shelly's gun and knife and Rex's gun they stepped back to let their boss take care of them.

John fell to the ground with the gun and silently praised Rex for his quick thinking. He lay there still, pretending to be unconscious. If he was going to help get them all out of this he needed the element of surprise. Even as he lay there he couldn't help but ache for Shelly. The fact that Jerry was the one who had nearly killed her and had attempted to do so again several times must be tearing her apart inside. Just that fact alone made him want to tear the man's throat out!

The fact that he claimed to be the father of Natalie's baby and wanted to SELL his own child literally made him sick to his stomach. This man was a monster! He silently willed away the thoughts and concentrated on what was happening here and now. He needed to stay alert so he would know when to make his move.

"Why are you doing this?" Shelly asked Jerry, tears streaming down her face. "How could you do this to me. I'm your sister! You love me."

"Love? Love?" He said, his voice rising on the second word. "How could I love someone that took everything from me? You aren't my sister! We share no blood but it wouldn't matter if we did. I hate you! You took everything from me!"

"I don't understand," She cried out, "What did I take from you?" His words tore her heart to shreds. She felt like she had stepped into another dimension and that nothing was what it seemed.

"You took my place. The love that should have been mine you took! Dad loved you more then me! Nothing I did was ever good enough. I tried to please him and all I heard was why can't you be more like your sister! How could I ever be anything when all I ever heard was how special you were!" Jerry was enraged, ranting. Years of bitterness and jealousy pouring out into the tirade.

Shelly cried out at the venom in his voice and wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't know that he told you that! I'm so sorry! I never meant to make you feel like you were less then me. I always looked up to you!" She began sobbing harder, "I love you, Jerry. Please don't do this."

Hearing Shelly say she loved him caused him to fly into another rage. He closed the distance between them and slapped her hard with the back of his hand, "Don't you ever say those words to me! Everyone loves you. Even that trash there loves you! Why doesn't anyone care about me like that?" Jerry said bitterly as he walked over to John and kicked him in the side.

"Leave him alone!" Shelly cried as he went to kick John again.

John felt the blow but didn't make a sound. Tensing when he saw Jerry's foot pull back again he braced himself for another blow. He waited but the blow never landed and he let out a breath of relief. Gripping the gun Rex had given him tightly he prepared himself to make his move.

"Ohh?" Jerry said evilly, "So you don't want me to hurt you brother here?" He smirked and walked over to her. "What will you give for his freedom?"

Rex watched silently, praying that John made his move soon. He didn't like the way this man was looking at Shelly. He and Jerry had met before but that was when Jerry had thought he was Herbie. He was actually surprised that Jerry wasn't more shocked then remembered his time with the mafia. Jerry must have known about him after he had took off and never came back. Jerry was looking at Shelly in a way that set his teeth on edge and it took all he had not to pull Shelly to him and shield her with his body.

"What do you mean?" Shelly asked confused.

"I mean," Jerry drawled, "that we aren't related and you have become a very beautiful woman." He reached out and ran a finger tip down her neck and then down between her breasts. "How about you give me something to let Johnny boy here go?"

Rex growled at the sight of Jerry touching Shelly. "Get your filthy hands off her!" he snarled at him and started to move towards Shelly only to be stopped by one of Jerry's henchmen.

Shelly was disgusted and jerked away, "That's disgusting!" she said to him and tried to get further away from him. He laughed cruelly and then shrugged and backed off a step.

"You're friend Natalie didn't think I was so disgusting." He told her, smirking. "In fact she liked it so much she actually had my baby."

Shelly stared at him and wondered who he was; he was nothing like her sweet, mild mannered brother now! "You're lying! Natalie wouldn't sleep with you!" she defended. 'Then again, maybe...' she thought. Natalie had told her the circumstances in which she had gotten pregnant. It was possible...

He looked over at Rex and smiled another deranged smile, "I wonder how your sister, who isn't actually your sister, is right now. I heard Mitch was gonna get something back that was taken from him. I bet Natalie would be really upset if she came home and found her twin missing..."

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Natalie sat on the bed letting Michael McBain stitch up her head. It throbbed painfully but he assured her that it wasn't serious. Sitting next to the bed in the chair was Jessica, holding Alex while Michael closed the wound. Natalie was consumed with worry, about John, about Shelly and Rex, and about Bo. They were all in danger and it really bothered her that she wasn't able to help them.

After Bo had called and told her about Rex's call about John she had been in a constant state of fear. She prayed with all that she was that John and everyone else would be ok. It seemed like everyone she loved the most was in danger right now while she sat here safe and sound with her daughter. It almost made her feel bad that she was not in danger too. If she hadn't had her daughter to look after she would have been down to the docks as soon as she had hung up with Bo.

Her daughter... she thought looking over at the sleeping baby. She loved that little girl so much that it actually scared her. There wasn't anything in the world like looking into those beautiful blue eyes and knowing that she was safe. To be sure that this baby was indeed Alexandra Michael had convinced her to have a DNA test done, not that there was any doubt after people got a look at her. She looked so much like Natalie that the DNA test was really only a formality.

Michael finished up his stitching and put a bandage on her wound. "We have to stop meeting like this, "he told Natalie. "I want to keep you here over night for observation."

"What?" Natalie said, rejecting the idea right away. "I feel fine. I just have a really bad headache. I don't need any observing."

"Its not a suggestion Natalie." Michael told her firmly. "John would kill me when he gets back if you get sick or something."

"I'm not worried about concussion but there is a risk of seizure. The bullet grazed a nerve." He explained further. With out pausing he went on, "I'm gonna give you a mild sedative to help you sleep. You need to heal and the best healing comes with rest," he told her.

"But what about Alex? And shouldn't I stay awake?" she asked.

"We'll have a crib brought into your room and no you don't have to stay awake. That's just for concussions." He said and glanced at Jessica, who was grinning at her sister's stubbornness.

"Relax Natty. I'll stay with you and Alex." Jessica said.

Knowing she was defeated she let Michael give her the sedative and didn't complain as he led her to a private room. Feeling groggy already she lay back on the bed as the crib was brought in and Jess laid Alex down in it. "When John comes..." Natalie said groggily.

"I'll bring him right in here." Jess told her firmly and Natalie smiled. "Thanks" she said as she drifted off to sleep.

**To be continued...**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway.**

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**Chapter 31**

John tensed at the mention of Natalie. He waited anxiously for any more mention of her. He had been so sure she would be safe where he had left her. His body was sore and aching from the treatment he had received at the hands of his captors but at that moment, if Natalie were hurt in any way, he would gladly KILL Jerry Falk.

"Sorry buddy," Rex said, "Natalie is just fine. I talked to her not long ago. But your pal Mitch is worm food. I believe Asa Buchanan shot him to death for messing with his family. Family still means something to him even if you choose to throw yours away."

Jerry turned red in the face as he became enraged at Rex's words. Taking out a gun he pointed it straight at Shelly's chest. "You wouldn't be so smug if I put a bullet in her heart now would you?" He cocked the gun and was about to pull the trigger when Rex jumped in front of Shelly.

"No! Rex get back" Shelly said desperately. She tried to shove Rex out of the way but he wasn't budging. "Please! Don't hurt him!" she begged Jerry. "I'm the one you want to hurt. Not him."

Rex was terrified but he wasn't about to let this mad man shoot the love of his life right in front of him! Shelly might still think there was some good in him but he could see that Jerry was consumed by his jealousy and rage. Jerry didn't care about anyone anymore. All he cared about getting revenge against those he believed wronged him. "No! Touch her and I'll kill you!"

Jerry laughed and then shrugged. Tightening his grip he prepared to shoot. "Ok if that's the way you want it, that's fine with me."

Suddenly something crashed through the window. John realized what it was and shouted "Get Down!" Closing his eyes he jumped up as the object exploded with a blinding flash of light. Holding his gun at the ready he opened his eyes and looked around. Police officers stormed into the building as everyone else tried to recover from the effects of the Flash grenade. Seeing Shelly knock the gun from Jerry's hand John turned to Bo and made eye contact.

Jerry was shocked when Shelly darted around Rex and kicked the gun from his hand. He hadn't known Shelly was capable of that! It seemed as is his "little sister" had skills he had been unaware of! As the room opened up into a hail of bullets he grabbed a knife from his belt. If he was going to die he was taking her with him! He leapt forward, his knife in the air, ready to stab her in the back.

Shelly had spun around after knocking the gun from Jerry's hand, thinking him unarmed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw an officer raise his gun at where Jerry was standing and instinct took over. Forgetting that Jerry had just been about to kill them all and that he hated her, in that moment he was simply Jerry, she spun sideways and lashed out with her foot knocking him to the ground, out of the way of the bullet fired by the officer. As she spun she felt a sharp pain in her side then a burning sensation. Damn! She had felt that before! She had been shot!

John saw Jerry about to stab Shelly and with out thinking he fired at him. Not noticing that Shelly lashed out at Jerry's legs he saw Jerry go down and thought he hit him. Shelly moved into the way blocking his view and his ability to fire another shot and he cursed. "Shelly, get down!" John screamed at her, relieved when she dropped to the floor.

Chaos reigned for several more seconds as Bo and his men battled with Jerry's henchmen then all was silent. Rex sat up from where he had thrown himself on the ground and saw that Shelly had moved over to where Jerry was now lying on the floor unmoving. He heard her tears, her anguish, and his heart broke for her.

Shelly staggered over to Jerry holding her side. Putting a hand to his throat she felt for a pulse. She started to sob uncontrollably when she felt the weak thready beat of his heart and cradled his head on her lap. "No…" she moaned in despair.

Jerry lay on the floor, his breathing harsh and rapid. He looked up at Shelly; confusion and pain etched on his face. "Why?" he rasped, "Why did you try to save me?"

Shelly sobbed, her side forgotten now. "Because you are my brother. No matter how you feel about me and what you have done I still love you."

Jerry laughed bitterly and with his last breaths he said, "You always have to be better than me don't you. It should have been me. It all should have been mine!" Then his whole body tensed and convulsed once and he was still, unmoving, dead.

John couldn't stand to see Shelly distraught and came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It will be ok Shelly."

Those words were the wrong ones to say and Shelly jumped up heedless of the burning agony in her side. Glaring at him her eyes blazing she screamed, "What do you know? My brother is dead! Dead! He is never coming back! Nothing will ever be ok again!"

John tried to calm her down but she was having none of it. He knew she was in pain and there was nothing he could do about it. Pulling her to him he held her tight as she struggled in his embrace. Sinking to the floor with her in his arms he sat there holding her tightly to him as she screamed and sobbed. Wincing as she pounded on his chest he continued to hold her till she went limp in his arms. Setting her away from him to look at her he noticed for the first time, that she had been shot.

"Rex" John screamed, "Call an ambulance! NOW! Shelly has been shot!" John tried to wake Shelly up by patting her on the face and pleading with her to wake up. "Come on Shelly wake up. You got to be ok. I've already lost two people I loved. Don't make me lose another." Shaking her a bit he shouted in her face. "WAKE UP MICHELLE!"

Blood poured from her side soaking her shirt, turning it red. Bo raced over to John and Shelly when he heard John scream for Rex to call an ambulance. Calling for one himself he quickly explained about the shoot out. Satisfied that help was on the way he knelt down and lifted Shelly's shirt to get a better look. The bullet had gone straight through her side and exited out the back leaving not one but 2 open wounds in her. He tore off his jacket and placed it over the holes.

Tipping Shelly on her side Bo applied pressure to both holes using his hands. John knelt there holding her hand and begging her to wake up as Rex dropped down next to them. Seeing that Shelly was unconscious Rex began to freak out.

"Shelly!" He yelled, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "No! Jesus not you!" He turned tear drenched eyes at John and screamed at him, "How could you let this happen. You're her brother! You were supposed to make sure she was safe!" Turning back to Shelly he said, "Come on baby, wake up. Please! Wake up. I need you! God I love you so much. Don't leave me!"

John was astounded at the depth of feeling Rex was revealing. He hadn't realized that Rex cared this much for Shelly. Finally he heard the ambulance pull up to the building. Seconds later he saw the EMT's come in. "Here" he shouted and they came sprinting over. As they loaded her on the gurney John flashed back to that vision he and Shelly had shared and began to panic. This couldn't be happening! Not now. Not after everything they had been through.

Headless of his own injuries he climbed into the ambulance with Shelly as they loaded her in. Once she was secure they raced off towards the hospital.

"Do you have the same blood type?" One of the EMT's asked John.

"What?" John asked, not hearing what he had been asked. He was so consumed with worry for Shelly, fear that she wouldn't make it, that he didn't even feel his own injuries.

"Do you have the same blood type as your sister?" the EMT asked again.

"Yeah, we do." John said distractedly. His attention wholly focused on his sister.

"We might need to do a transfusion. She has lost a lot of blood. I think the bullet might have nicked an artery."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." John said and held out his arm. "Do what you have to do. Just save my sister! Don't let her die!"

"John? John? Where are you?" Came a weak voice, startling everyone in the ambulance.

"I'm here, Shelly." John said grabbing her hand and leaning closer to her. "Hang on, we're almost at the hospital."

"You...ok...?" she asked, worried about his injuries.

"I'm fine," John replied dismissively, his own wounds painful but not serious. He didn't want to worry her about them right now anyway.

"Knew...it would...come to this." She said softly. "I love you, John. Tell Natalie I wish I could have seen her baby grow up. Tell...Tell...Michael and Chris that I'm sorry I couldn't make it to..." She trailed off too weak to continue.

"You can tell them all your self. You're gonna make it. You have to make it." John said frantically. He could see that she was growing weaker. Suddenly one of the EMT's cursed and yelled, "Her blood pressure is dropping. We're losing her! Need to defib!" As he said that her heart monitor began to Beeeeeep and they put the paddles on her chest and shocked her. Her body arched up for a second then the EMT yelled "Again!" and then shocked her again...

**To be continued...**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N I do not own these characters. Oh wait I do own Shelly, Jerry, Mr. and Mrs. Falk, and any other character I might make up on a whim, and all the mob guys except Walter Balsom. I am getting no profit off the use of ABC characters so please refrain from suing me. I have no money anyway. **

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**Chapter 32**

Natalie opened her eyes and looked around. She saw that she was back in Atlantic City, with Roxy. She knew she was dreaming, how she knew she didn't know, she just did. She saw the dingy little apartment that she and Rex had lived in and smiled slightly. It had really been a dump but still... there were some good memories here. This was where Rex took his first steps, where they had burned their first pot of mac and cheese. Laughing slightly at the memory she began to walk around.

After a short time Natalie began to wonder why she was dreaming about this place. She hadn't thought about it in years...

"Hey," Shelly said softly.

Natalie spun around, surprised. This was her dream... what was Shelly doing here? Then she laughed again to her self. Duh, this was a dream, anything could happen. "Hey," she replied.

"This isn't a dream you know. Well it is but it isn't," Shelly said to her.

"What?"

"It's your dream but I am really here. I am really Shelly. I came to say good-bye." Shelly said sadly. She could feel her body dying. She was still partially aware of what was happening in the ambulance as it raced towards Llanview Hospital. She could hear John begging her to stay strong, to not leave him. She was trying but she knew it was inevitable. She was going to die; she had long ago accepted that fact.

"Good bye?" Natalie didn't understand. This was unlike any dream she had ever experienced before. She had the knowledge deep in her soul that this really was indeed Shelly and not just a dream. She could actually feel Shelly's emotions. She couldn't make out any with certainty except an overwhelming sadness.

Shelly stepped closer. "I don't know why I ended up in your dream. I guess we have some sort of connection. Like when I had that vision about you and when you knew I hurt myself. But this is probably the only chance I am going to have to say good bye. I love you like the sister I never had, Natalie. I really am going to miss you."

"Wait!" Natalie said, she could feel herself getting lighter. She must be waking up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm dying. Make sure John knows that it wasn't his fault. Tell Rex that I love him, more than anything. Give Alex a kiss for me." Shelly told her and then kissed Natalie on the cheek as Natalie totally disappeared.

"Shelly!" Natalie called out as she woke. "Shelly!"

Jess sat up at the sound of Natalie's voice. Jess had just heard about Shelly through the hospital staff. She was being brought in by ambulance; it didn't look good. "Shelly isn't here." She told Natalie softly.

Natalie was breathing heavily. She remembered everything about her dream. Shelly had come to tell her good bye! "Where is she? Is she ok?" Natalie asked, hoping it was all a dream and nothing more.

Jess took a deep breath, "She was shot, Natalie. It doesn't look good. She is on her way here right now."

Natalie broke down in tears, "Noooo!" she said softly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

John sat as the EMT's worked on Shelly. He was in shock. How could things go wrong so quickly? It had only been minutes, 10 at most, since the warehouse but it felt like a year to him. "Please Shelly, wake up!" he prayed softly as the EMT's shocked her yet again.

'Beep, beep, beep.' He heard and almost shouted with joy. He moved closer again, as the ambulance pulled into the hospital lot. Taking her hand he said, "Thank God," over and over. She was breathing again...

The back doors of the ambulance were thrown open and Shelly was rushed out of the ambulance and into a waiting ER. John followed, running straight into Michael.

"What happened to you?" Michael demanded, not seeing Shelly. He hadn't heard about her yet.

"I'm fine. Shelly was shot." John told him, realizing that Michael didn't know. His worry for Shelly showing on his face as he watched a doctor rush into the ER. The doctor looked familiar and he realized that it was Dr Platt. "That bitch!" he muttered and rushed after her. He barged into the ER, grabbed her wrist and physically dragged her away from Shelly. "Don't you go near her!" he snarled.

"John!" Michael said, shocked.

John glared at him and said, "Go save our sister! I will deal with her."

Michael was thoroughly confused but knew the look on John's face. He did as he was told and scrubbed up then went into the ER, unprepared for what he found.

Shelly had one again coded, her heart stopping again. He knew he shouldn't be in here but nothing would keep him out. He began chest compressions on her as one of the nurses said, "We're losing her!" Michael shoved her aside and began to work more frantically, "We are not losing her. I will not lose my sister!"

The monitors kept going off and Michael kept working on her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shelly was once again in a dream world. This time it was her own. She was in her bedroom back in the house she had lived in with the Falks. Her parents, her brothers... no matter what DNA said, she still thought of them as her family. It tore her heart out to know that Jerry hated her so much. She didn't understand how she could not have known. She had lived with him and she hadn't had a clue.

The betrayal was devastating. It made her wonder why she had bothered at all. What was there to fight for if the people she loved most had that kind of hate in them. What was there to live for? "Why?" she wondered aloud.

"Because that's what we do..." Thomas said. "We fight for the people we love no matter the cost."

"You... You're..." Shelly said, shocked. She knew who he was, had seen his picture.

"Yes, I am your father." Thomas said. He smiled lovingly at her, the daughter he had lost so long ago. He knew she was close to death, but it was not yet her time. She still had many more years to live if she wanted them.

"I don't know if I can fight any more. I just don't see the point. Everything is the way it is. Nothing I do will ever make a difference... Why are you here?" Shelly asked suddenly.

"To help you." Thomas replied.

"How are you supposed to help me?"

"That's up to you." And it was. "Life or Death. The choice is yours to make. It always has been. All you have to do is choose."

"I don't understand." Shelly was confused. "I've seen this in my visions you know. I know what happens next." She shrugged. "I die on the table. That's how it always happens in my visions."

"I know about the vision. I know about all your visions."

"How? Oh, Never mind. I supposed cause you are dead and all. You probably know about everything that goes on with your family." She said, suddenly struck by the oddness of the exchange.

"No, that's not how I know. I know because I gave you the visions, or at least the ability to have them." Thomas told her.

"But why? All they cause is grief, pain." She asked.

"Because it was your destiny. It was meant to be that you would find John and Michael. That you would save Natalie. You were meant to make a difference in the world. With out you John would still be closed off to love, Natalie would be dead and her daughter lost forever and Michael would still be lonely and unhappy. The visions brought you all together and gave you all a common goal." Thomas explained. He had had done it, gave her the 'sight' for his family. It had been his only gift to give.

Shelly was silent for a long moment then looked at him with tears in her eyes, "But what about Jerry? He hated me. How do I live with that?"

Thomas sighed; the irony of that situation was not lost on him. It was tragic that Shelly had gone through that and even more tragic for Jerry. The fact that the one person who loved him, whole-heartedly and with out reservation, was the one person whom he chose to fixate his rage on was terribly tragic for both of them. "Jerry made his own choices. He chose to hate rather then to love. It wasn't your fault, or even anything you could change. There is so much left for you to see, to do. You have to get past it and move on, live."

"I thought you said it was up to me. What if I don't want to go back? Can't I stay here with you?" Shelly asked, suddenly terrified of going back.

"You can, but what about John and Michael. What about Natalie? Or Rex? Or even your little niece Alexandra. They need you." Thomas told her.

"Rex..." she thought and then thought about never knowing Alex and leaving John and Michael as well. The thought of leaving them made her want to cry.

Thomas smiled; his job was done. She had made her choice.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**3 weeks later** _

Shelly sat in her hospital bed holding on to baby Alex. Natalie sat next to the bed watching silently, smiling. Since Shelly had come back from the dead she had not had a chance to speak privately with her. Shelly had literally been dead, she had flat lined for 6 minutes before Michael had been able to bring her back. Natalie had been waiting for the opportunity to speak with her about that dream she had when Shelly had been on her way to the hospital.

"Shelly...?" Natalie began softly.

Shelly looked up and smiled. Ever since she had been shot, for the second time in her life, she had begun to take everything more seriously. She had almost lost everything she held dear and that made her more grateful for the time she had now. She still remembered Thomas's words to her as she lay near death. _"Life or Death. The choice is yours to make. It always has been. All you have to do is choose." _

"Yeah?"

"When you were shot... I had a dream. You came to me. Told me good bye..." She trailed off, not sure how to ask if it had really been a dream.

Shelly smiled, " It wasn't a dream. I did. I thought I was going to die. I wanted you to know how much you mean to me."

Natalie was relieved to know she wasn't crazy. She smiled again at Shelly. They talked a little more of the vision/dream and then Rex came in the room. He and Shelly were closer then ever and much to Natalie's shock John had actually begun to respect if not approve of their relationship.

"I'll leave you two alone." Natalie told them as she picked up Alex and left the room. She almost ran into John who was coming out of the elevator. She smiled at him as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Mmmmm..." John said as he pulled away. "Is Rex in there again?" After seeing Rex fall apart when Shelly had been shot John couldn't deny that the other man loved his sister. He had called a truce between them and was staying out of their relationship. He had a new found respect for Rex even if he didn't approve of his choices sometimes.

"Yup, Lets go home. They are gonna be a while." Home was a new apartment that they shared with their daughter Alexandra. John had been so loving and accepting of her that it was as if Alex was his.

John slung his arm around her waist and they walked back to the elevator, him, Natalie and Alex. "Have I told you today how much I love you?" John asked when the stepped into the elevator.

Natalie smiled at the now familiar question, "Nope, tell me again," she answered.

"I love you more then anything in this world." He replied. She really was the answer to his prayers, to all he hadn't even known he wanted.

**The End**


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